UK Campus Walk: How Dean Arnett is Growing the College of Public Health

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 24, 2019) – Light bulbs turned on in Donna Arnett’s head when she discovered the field of epidemiology. Since joining the University of Kentucky in 2015 as the dean of the UK College of Public Health, Arnett has led faculty and staff who have turned on the light bulbs of the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in their programs.

Growth is important to Dean Arnett. Since coming to UK, she’s seen the field of public health grow in popularity and has seen the college outgrow its current space. “We have the fastest growing undergraduate program at UK,” she said. “I think the reason public health is so popular is that it’s a broad field that encompasses very basic science in the form of toxicology and genetics, mathematics and statistics, to things like policy and how we create the right financial structures to support health systems in the country.”

Soon, this college and its students, faculty and staff will have a new home in the middle of campus in Scovell Hall. Currently, faculty and staff offices are in various places on- and off-campus. For the first time, the college will have a building meant for their needs that can house everyone. “We’ve been existing in many different buildings on campus. This is going to bring us all under one roof for the very first time, where we have classrooms with our students and our faculty all together in one place,” Arnett said.

By growing its space, the College of Public Health is growing the number of people who can address health issues affecting the Commonwealth such as addiction, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and a host of other illnesses.

Watch the video above to learn how Arnett and her staff hope to contribute to a public health work force that is dedicated, capable and passionate about serving others.

This video is part of a bi-monthly UKNow series called "Campus Walks." The idea is to get out of the office and onto campus with members of the UK community, so UKNow can have in-depth, authentic conversations about the university with the people working so hard to advance its mission of education, research and service.

If there is someone on campus you would like to see featured in a future "Campus Walks," email us.