University Times

Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) Dean Bernard D. Goldstein is stepping down as dean effective Aug. 31, 2005.

Goldstein will remain on the faculty and continue his scholarly activities as a professor in environmental health and public policy.

During his four-year tenure as dean, GSPH has risen to third among the 36 schools of public health nationwide in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), behind only Johns Hopkins and Harvard, making the school the top state-related school in competitive NIH research funding. In FY03, GSPH received $44.9 million in research funding from NIH, a 50 percent increase since 2000.

The school also has increased its student enrollment by 25 percent, to 511 students, and has expanded its facilities to 18 different locations throughout Oakland and nearby areas.

“During his tenure as dean, Dr. Goldstein has taken the Graduate School of Public Health to new a level of excellence in research support, in community outreach and service and in the development of curricula that meet the needs of the future public health workforce,” said Arthur S. Levine, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences. “He has also put the school’s work on the global public health map. I’m pleased that Bernie will remain on the GSPH faculty, so we’ll continue to benefit from his expertise in environmental health and public policy, his vision and passion for the future of public health and his wise counsel.”

In announcing his decision to step down as dean, Goldstein wrote: “Working with the faculty, staff and students of this school has been the high point of a long career. I take particular pride in noting the increased recognition of the accomplishments of GSPH by its academic peers and by the Pittsburgh community.”

As an example, Goldstein cited efforts to publicize within and outside the University the breadth of the school’s research. “We found that there was $144 million worth of research dollars in which faculty from other [Pitt] schools are principal investigators, so the money counts for their school, but in which our faculty play a role,” Goldstein told the University Times. Similarly, about $36 million of the school’s credited $76 million in total research dollars involve faculty from other Pitt schools. “So, on balance, we come out very well,” he said. “Tabulating those things shows the importance of our faculty’s research efforts. It also shows that, more than any other institution I’ve ever been associated with, the University of Pittsburgh engages by far in the most extensive research collaboration.”

Goldstein said his love for Pittsburgh figured into his decision to stay at GSPH. “I love the town, and one of the factors in my decision is that my wife convinced me that I was not taking enough advantage of the area’s [amenities],” he said.

As for disappointments as dean, Goldstein said, “One always feels one could do more. I think, though, that I learned to recognize the wisdom of getting our of the way of my faculty and let them do the important work. I’ve been saying, ‘I’m going to step up to the faculty, not step down as dean,'” he quipped. “My only regret is not having come to the GSPH at a younger age,” said Goldstein, who is 65.

Goldstein came to Pitt from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, where he was founding dean of its School of Public Health and founding director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, the largest such academic health program in the United States. He also was professor and chairman of the Department of Environmental and Community Medicine.

Goldstein has served as an officer with the U.S. Public Health Service and as assistant administrator for research and development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

An environmental toxicologist, Goldstein’s research interests have focused largely on the concept of biological markers in the field of risk assessment.

He has published in the areas of blood toxicity, the formation of cancer-causing substances, known as free radicals, following exposure to inhalants, various aspects of public health decision-making and global issues in environmental medicine.

He is a member of the National Academies of Science Institute of Medicine; vice president of the Paris-based Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment; a consultant to the World Health Organization and to the United Nations Environmental Program, and a member of the executive committee of the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Goldstein earned his medical degree at New York University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Levine is expected to name a search committee for Goldstein’s successor in the near future.

-Peter Hart Goldstein