Having earned its first national ranking, Fairfield's public health portfolio—encompassing three distinct degree programs—is positioned for success.
Within the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, public health studies are still relatively young; nevertheless, their reputation is on the rise. In fact, Niche recently named Fairfield University one of the Best Colleges for Public Health in America. Ranked #88, the public health major, first offered in 2018, stacked up favorably against longstanding programs at the University of Iowa and Saint Louis University.
For those familiar with Fairfield, the growing reputation of its public health programs is not surprising. In fact, it is entirely expected, for the core values of the discipline align seamlessly with those of the University and its Jesuit Catholic mission—namely, a strong commitment to social justice and service to others.
Within Fairfield’s public health programs, these values are often animated through community-engaged learning. In collaboration with the Center for Social Impact, public health has developed a number of community-engaged learning courses through which students connect classroom learning to real-life experiences by partnering with local organizations to address community-identified needs.
One such course is taught by Associate Professor Jennifer Schindler-Ruwisch, DrPH, CPH. In her community-engaged learning course on public health, disease, and injury, students collaborate with Caroline House, a language and literacy program for recent immigrants in Bridgeport, Conn., to identify key social determinants of health in the community and to design and implement collective advocacy efforts. For her course, Dr. Schindler-Ruwisch won the 2025 Delta Omega Award for Innovative Public Health Curriculum.
Assistant Professor Bridget Hussain, PhD, RDN, CDCES, CDN, also integrates service into her teaching and is currently working with CSI to develop the "Advanced Epidemiology and Biostatistics" public health course to include community-engaged learning that provides statistical analysis support in collaboration with local programs and partners. For her commitment to centering equity in her work, Dr. Hussain was named to the 2025-26 cohort of Engaged Scholars. One of only 18 scholars selected for the initiative, she intends to use the leadership and professional development program to further tailor her research and teaching to the needs of her campus community.
Beyond these national awards for community-engaged work, public health faculty members also distinguish themselves through impactful scholarship published in respected peer-reviewed journals.
In his latest article, Professor Anthony Santella, DrPH, MCHES, CPH, director of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program, explored dental providers’ knowledge of HIV and their communication and collaboration practices with HIV care professionals. Through in-depth interviews, the study assessed providers’ understanding of HIV and related prevention strategies, revealing important knowledge gaps within a population that plays a critical role in public health initiatives. Published in Health Promotion Practice, Dr. Santella’s research emphasized the need for health promotion practitioners to collaborate with dental providers to address HIV-related knowledge gaps to help end the HIV epidemic.
Meanwhile, Assistant Professor Kim Doughty, PhD, MPH, CHES, director of the undergraduate Public Health program, published an article about infant feeding attitudes in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Her study assessed mothers’ perceptions of judgement for infant feeding practices and analyzed the outcomes of infant feeding campaigns across social demographics. Dr. Doughty’s research identified the need for more effective and nuanced breastfeeding messaging to support mothers to carry out their infant feeding intentions.
Drs. Santella and Doughty coauthored their articles with Master of Public Health student Devin Flores ‘23 and undergraduate public health student Lliana Joe ’26, respectively, highlighting opportunities for public health students not only to engage in meaningful and impactful research but to do so under the close tutelage of respected scholars and practitioners.
Such opportunities abound at Fairfield, for the dedicated faculty in its public health programs are eager to mentor students who wish to pursue research and scholarship. Examples include Dr. Hussain recruiting Meredith Hannigan ’25 for her systematic review on food insecurity and disordered eating among undergraduates and Dr. Doughty guiding Anna Sherman ’24 through her senior capstone project on mental health and student-athletes. Both recent alumnae presented their projects at prominent academic conferences.
To be sure, the public health portfolio at Fairfield offers myriad opportunities for students to promote and improve community health through faculty-guided research and practice, and its successes in these areas have grown its reputation across higher education. The possibilities and potential have never been greater, especially subsequent to Fairfield adding the DrPH to its degree offerings and transitioning to a nationally accredited public health program, both within the past year.
