UCLA PUBLICHEALTH SPRING 2000 - UCLA School of Public Health

CTIONS ON 15 YEARS OF AFIFI
When I became dean, the school was at the tail end of
an era in which it solidified its academic standing,”
Afifi reflects. Beginning in the 1960s, he explains,
public health schools across the country, which
were once concerned primarily with producing graduates
who would staff the health departments, started to focus
more on advancing knowledge and changing paradigms
through research. By the mid-1980s many public health leaders,
Afifi included, believed the pendulum had swung too far
the other way, and that more attention needed to be paid to
the practice of public health.
“My tenure has been characterized by trying to find the
right balance,” says Afifi, who has appointed more than half
of the current faculty. “We continued to hire very solid academic
people, but we have enough now who are interested in
public health practice so that we have achieved a very good
balance. That has helped us strengthen our connection with
the general community, as well as becoming a resource for the
practice community.” In addition, to a much greater extent
than when Afifi’s tenure began, the practice community now
refers not just to the local, state and federal health agencies,
but also to the private sector; this, too, has had a major impact
on the school’s curriculum.
Had circumstances not intervened, Afifi’s most tangible
accomplishment would have been his reorganization of the
school from a single department with seven divisions to five
departments reflective of the core areas of public health: Biostatistics,
Community Health Sciences, Environmental
Health Sciences, Epidemiology and Health Services. This restructuring,
accompanied by a corresponding staff realignment,
strengthened each individual unit — and, as a result,
the school as a whole.
But in June 1993, the campus proposed a restructuring of
its own — one that included disestablishment of the School of
Public Health. What followed was an unprecedented showing
of support that continues to reverberate to this day, as faculty,
students, staff, alumni and friends throughout the public
health community banded together in a successful
effort to save the school. Afifi’s leadership was instrumental
as the school not only stayed afloat, but bounced back to a
position where, by all measures, it is now stronger than ever.
“We’re much more visible today than we were before
1993, both on and off campus,” Afifi observes. “We have
been recognized by Chancellor [Albert] Carnesale as being a
leader in two of the university’s priority areas: connection
with the community and joint programs with other UCLA
schools and departments. And nationally, wherever I go, I
have found that people are much more aware of what we’re
doing than they were in the past.”
Michael Eicher
Vice Chancellor, External Affairs
It has been a real pleasure and, personally, a very
rewarding experience to work with Afifi over the
years. He is one of those rare individuals who
seems to be constantly filled with zest and enthusiasm
for the world around him. His warmth and
personal generosity make everyone feel good.
Few, if any, have been more supportive or engaged
in the efforts to involve alumni and friends in the
activities and important work of UCLA. I am proud
to have had the opportunity to work so closely with
him, and prouder still to call him a friend.
Patricia A. Ganz
Professor of Health Services and
Director, Division of Cancer Prevention
and Control Research
Afifi has shown tremendous skill and leadership in
bringing the school out of the challenging years
after the Professional Schools Restructuring Initiative.
His support of new programs and centers has
capitalized on faculty expertise along with strategic
university and community partnerships. He will be
missed by all of us!
Ralph R. Frerichs
Professor and Chair, Epidemiology
While most students know of Dean Afifi’s academic
life — his sage words of advice as a dean and
his excellent sessions as a teacher — they likely
do not know of his other passion. Every year from
December to March, I look down from my loftier
perch and see the familiar shine of the dean’s
dome, as he enjoys another season of UCLA basketball.
He and his wife are great fans, appreciating
the beauty of contests that are probabilistic in outcome,
well described with statistics, and certainly
filled with excitement.
Susan C. Scrimshaw
Dean, University of Illinois at Chicago
School of Public Health
Dean Afifi is a remarkable man who has done a remarkable
job for the UCLA School of Public Health.
During his tenure he established a sound budget,
led the school through departmentalization and the
defeat of the attempt to close it, created a stronger
research presence, and recruited more than half of
the current faculty. As his associate dean for six
years, I received valuable mentoring. To this day, I
often ask: “What would Afifi do?” In my close work
with him as an administrator, I most admired his
judgment, his vision and his fairness.