Accelerate Faculty Impact
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health faculty members are the foundation for our excellence. We must continue to recruit and retain the best teachers, researchers, practitioners and thinkers through competitive professorships and other support. To be competitive and excellent, we must attract and keep more faculty who are diverse and global.
Our talented faculty members are often sought out by other universities who offer large financial incentives for start-up. We must think and work more collaboratively and creatively — by recruiting and retaining clusters of faculty members in particular challenge areas, such as clean water and maternal and child health, the school could make a significant difference with more scholars focused on problem solving.
Solving Water Shortages in North Carolina and Around the World
The world is facing an unprecedented water crisis. Only half of all households can access water at home. Unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene cause an estimated 1.8 million preventable deaths a year, mostly in children. Globally, provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) is the one intervention most likely to reduce world poverty.
In the U.S. and other industrialized nations, water scarcity and aging water-and-sanitation infrastructure are increasing concerns. Water is a linchpin of 21st century public health, and the UNC Gillings School has made an extraordinary commitment to finding solutions to the water and sanitation crises. With the leadership of Jamie Bartram, Ph.D., director of the UNC Water InstituteOpens in new window, and Gregory Characklis,Ph.D., director of the UNC Center for Watershed Science and Management, we are making an impact in North Carolina, the U.S. and beyond. Their work to develop sustainable, systems-based approaches, such as inexpensive water purification technology and innovative financing mechanisms that help regions share water during droughts, are providing clean water — and hope — to many.
