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About the Department of Public Health

Department History

Historical Development of the Department of Public Health (1960-2024)

The Department of Public Health (PUBH) has its origin within the Health, Physical Education and Recreation program within the Education and Psychology Division of Orange County State College in 1960.  Two faculty members, Paul Pastor and Alex Omalev, were hired to develop Health, Physical Education and Recreation courses.  The first courses taught in 1961-1962 were in elementary and secondary school physical education and in recreation.

The Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) started in 1963.  Twelve more faculty members were hired between 1962-1967.  The first degree program, a B.S. in Physical Education, started in 1966.  The number of Physical Education classes grew rapidly with nearly 50 classes concentrating on physical activities and teaching physical education.  There were only three Health Education classes – Personal and community health, Prevention and first aid, and Environmental health.

Over the next decade (1967-1977), the number of HPER faculty grew to a constant number of about 20 with a significant turnover of faculty.  The number of Health Education courses grew to 8 in 1974 including new courses – Drugs and society, Man exercise and leisure, Health education for teachers, The school health program, and Public health.  So as of 1971, “Public health” made its first appearance in the University catalog.

The Department of HPER became housed in the new School of Human Development and Community Service in 1976.  A strong curriculum in Physical Education (now Kinesiology) developed over this time with courses studying movement from many aspects.  Courses included anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor learning, sport psychology, history and philosophy of sport and activity, and teaching physical education.  The courses in Health Education remained similar with the addition of Holistic health and wellness and Nutrition.

By 1987, the Department of HEPER had a BS and M. degree in Physical Education, a minor in PE, a teacher preparation program, a credential in Adapted PE, and an Athletic Training education program.  It was in 1987 that the Minor in Health Promotion (21 units) was created.  Anne Marie Bird became the Chair of Health Education, Physical Education and Recreation (HEPER) in 1987, and continued as Chair through 1999.  She oversaw much of the development of the health emphasis in the Department. 

In 1987, Kathy Koser was hired as the Department’s second “health specialist” joining Bill Fulton.  Up through 1997, the Department of HEPER still had only a Minor in Health Promotion but a movement in health was growing.  A Division of Kinesiology and Health Promotion was created in 1997 and faculty started to identify as associating with Kinesiology (14 faculty) or with Health Promotion (3 faculty) – Kathy Koser, Jessie Jones and the newly hired Jill English.  It was also at this time, Fall 1997, that the Bachelor of Science in Health Science degree was launched.

From 1997 to 2005, the Division of Kinesiology and Health Science grew to about 25 faculty members.  Among those members, 9 were now “health specialists.”  Along with Kathy Koser and Jessie Jones, new hires included Bridget Driscoll (1999), Yosuke Chikamoto (2000), Shari McMahan (2000), Vince Merrill (2002), Sora Tanjasiri (2003), Laura Chandler (2004), and Jie Weiss (2004). 

Many more Health Science courses were added from 2000-2005.  Some of the courses added include: Consumer health, Community health education, Instructional methodologies, Children’s health, Worksite injury, Promoting health in multicultural population, Worksite health promotion, and Occupational health and safety.  Much of this curricular development was in anticipation of the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree that was introduced in 2003. 

A real milestone in the development of the Department of Public Health occurred in 2005.  Up to this time, “Health” was housed in the Division of Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the School of Human Development and Community Service.  “Health” still had no particular identify.  It was in the Fall of 2005 that two new entities were formed.  The College of Health and Human Development was created with Roberta Rikli as Dean.  And the Department of Health Science was formed under the direction of Shari McMahan.  The new Department included 8 Health Science faculty – Laura Chandler, Jessie Jones, Kathy Koser, Vince Merrill, Sora Tanjasiri, Dara Vazin, Jie Weiss, and the Chair, Shari McMahan.

The Department of Health Science, under the able leadership of Department Chairs Shari McMahan (2005-2010), Jessie Jones (2010-2014), and Sora Tanjasiri (2014-2018), experienced incredible growth from 2005 through 2018.  The number of students receiving the B.S. in Health Science grew 5-fold from about 100 grads in 2005 to about 500 grads in 2018. 

It was in 2018 that finally the Department of Public Health became a reality.  The Department included 23 full-time faculty including all of those previously mentioned, plus new hires – Archana McEligot (2006), Michele Mouttapa (2006), Anthony DiStefano (2007), Jasmeet Gill (2008), Danny Kim (2008), Alysia Ransons Rivera (2008), Michele Wood (2009), Josh Yang (2009), John Breskey (2011), Lilia Espinosa (2012), Jennifer Piazza (2012), Maria Koleilat (2013), Jackie Blyleven (2014), Diana Tisnado (2014), Shana Charles (2015), Pimbucha Rusmevichientong (2015), Alice Lee (2016), Jordan Aquino (2017), Phillip Gedalanga (2017), and Bo Young Park (2018). 

The Department of Public Health, when created in 2018, under new Department Chair Michele Wood, hit the ground running.  The Department offered the B.S. in Public Health, the Minor in Public Health, and the Master of Public Health.  It included a diverse, highly talented faculty of 23 full-time faculty members.  It offered over 70 courses nearly half of which were newly developed within the previous 10-15 years.  The number of B.S. graduates was at nearly 500 per year. 

Over the subsequent years, under the leadership of Michele Wood, the Department of Public Health continues to thrive.  New hires include Portia Jackson Preston (2019), Tabashir Nobari (2019), Mojgan Sami (2019), Lohuwa Mamudu (2021), and Kevin Cummins (2021). It is amazing to see in 2023 how this entire Public Health program grew out of the work of two newly hired faculty members in 1960.  It grew from one course, HPER 101 Personal and Community Health, that was first taught in 1962.  This profound development is dependent on the contributions of many faculty members. 

A select number of Public Health faculty have been awarded “emeritus” status in special recognition of their significant contributions to the development and operation of the Department.

Emeriti faculty of the Department of Public Health include the following:

  • Bill Fulton (1965-1992), Professor of Health, Phys Education and Recreation, Emeritus
  • Kathy Koser (1987-2013), Associate Professor and Chair of Health Science, Emerita
  • Jeff Fortuna (1987-2014), Lecturer of Health Science, Emeritus
  • Jessie Jones (1992-2016), Professor and Chair of Health Science, Emerita
  • Mary Aboud (1994-2016), Admin Analyst / Specialist of KNES and Health Science, Emerita
  • Cindy Abbott (1996-2016), Lecturer of Health Science, Emerita
  • Jie Weiss (2004-2022), Professor of Public Health, Emerita

William Beam, PhD
Faculty Emeritus and Former Chair
Department of Kinesiology
CSU Fullerton
9/25/2023 (Abridged)