Leadership and Global Health

Course Description

Despite world-wide advances in technology and development, providing high quality health care to people in resource-limited settings continues to pose enormous challenges. Now more than ever, the global community is focused on overcoming inequities in access to health care and reducing poverty as a means of curbing the spread of disease and improving lives. Building on this growing momentum, this course will focus on the important role that young people can play as leaders and innovators in the field of global health. Students interested in public health research, medicine, economics, engineering, health policy and education, human rights law, business and management, and environmental science and sustainable development will be engrossed by this course. Throughout, students will investigate the roles that historical, social, political, and economic factors play in the health of communities both in the United States and globally.

Through interactive class discussions, lectures by experts in the field, and experiential role plays, students will be challenged to apply their leadership skills while learning about: infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis; maternal and child health; nutrition and food security; mental health and other non-communicable diseases; natural and man-made disaster emergency response situations; climate change and impact on global health; gun violence; the US opioid epidemic; emerging infectious disease; bioethics; biomedical technology; and nonprofits and international aid organizations.

By connecting global health challenges with local inequalities, students will leave this course with the background knowledge and leadership skills to develop Action Plans to address key challenges in global health and social justice to bring back to their own communities.

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This course is part of the Leadership Institute, a two-week academic program that helps students cultivate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with effective and socially responsible leadership. This unique program consists of three integrated elements: academic content, leadership development, and the Action Plan. Our students are thoughtful and compassionate youth who are interested in social issues and creating positive change. Enrollment in this program requires several hours of online engagement prior to campus arrival. This online participation can be completed at any time where internet access is available. Once on campus, participants can look forward to full days in a community of engaged and curious learners.

Additional programmatic information may be found here.

Prerequisites: None required.

Cate Oswald, BA in International Development Studies and Masters In Public Health, is currently Chief Policy and Partnership Officer for the global health non-profit Partners In Health. Cate is a passionate advocate for universal access to health care, for social justice and global health equity. Her years of working and living in Haiti and Liberia with Partners In Health provide real-life examples and case studies used in the Leadership and Global Health course, enriching discussions and ensuring that students understand what a career in global public health can entail. Cate grew up in Rhode Island and attended Brown University. She enjoys learning other languages, living and traveling in tropical climates and keeping in contact with friends from many countries throughout the world.