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Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger announced June 9 that the University’s trustees have resolved to name the building at 722 W. 168 St. in honor of Dr. Allan Rosenfield, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, for his pioneering leadership in public health. The building houses the majority of the school’s departments, centers, and programs.
The trustees based their resolution on Dr. Rosenfield’s exemplary career dedicated to improving the quality of life for people across the globe and within Columbia’s surrounding New York neighborhoods, as well as his leadership in shaping the field of public health in his 20-year tenure as dean of Columbia’s Mailman School.
"Over the last three decades at Columbia, Allan has not only inspired and trained generations of public health leaders, he has helped define what a school of public health should be," said Columbia University President Lee Bollinger in making the naming announcement. "Having the Mailman School reside in the Allan Rosenfield building is a living legacy to what Allan himself has built here -- and to the impact he’s had on people from Washington Heights to Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud and lucky that his name will now always be an essential part of this university."
A group of respected foundations joined together with Dr. Rosenfield’s friends and supporters to establish a sizable Tribute Fund dedicated to the renovation of the School’s new home. The Tribute Fund, launched in March 2006, already has received commitments totaling more than $36 million. That comes in addition to $27 million already committed to support the building.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have all made commitments to naming the building in Dr. Rosenfield’s honor. A number of individuals and families also have pledged their support to the Tribute Fund to enable Dr. Rosenfield to achieve his goal of creating facilities that match the extraordinary caliber of the Mailman School’s departments, centers and programs. They include the Joseph L. Mailman Family, Mrs. Norma Hess, the Alfred and Gail Engelberg Foundation, Dr. Judith Sulzberger, and the Heilbrunn family.
As dean of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health for 20 years, Dr. Rosenfield has led the School to its current stature as one of the nation’s largest and most respected graduate schools of public health, renowned for its programs in teaching, research and service to New York City, the nation and the world.
"I am deeply grateful to President Bollinger and the trustees of Columbia, as well as the leadership of the Gates, Packard, and Hewlett Foundations, for this magnanimous gesture in honor of my work as dean," said Dr. Rosenfield. "And to my colleagues and friends, I am humbled by the generosity you have shown in support of the School and its important work."
President Bollinger first made the announcement at a testimonial dinner for the dean held Wednesday evening at Columbia, attended by over 800 of his friends and colleagues from around the globe, including Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; Richard Gere, actor and activist; Princess Firyal of Jordan; New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene Thomas Frieden; Ambassador Richard Holbrooke; Ambassador Robin Chandler Duke; Fred Sai, presidential advisor on Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS in Ghana; UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis; and William Foege, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and the Carter Center and special advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. On Thursday, Columbia hosted a World Leaders Forum also in honor of Dr. Rosenfield, which included a keynote address on the global AIDS/HIV fight by former President Bill Clinton.
A trained obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Rosenfield has spent his entire career fighting for the health and well-being of the most vulnerable, both domestically and globally. Considered a visionary for the future of public health and a powerful voice for those who are struggling or forgotten, he is an outspoken and deeply committed leader and a compassionate friend and mentor to thousands. Colleagues look to Dr. Rosenfield for guidance and support, and he has inspired and trained generations of public health leaders. It has been said that he is the "dean of deans" and a doctor to millions.
His early work at the Mailman School focused on reproductive health programs in northern Manhattan, with special attention paid to adolescents, family planning and maternal mortality, and on issues of women’s reproductive health globally. More recently, he has been an international leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, working tirelessly to reduce the burden of the disease on women and families in resource-poor communities across the globe.
Dr. Rosenfield graduated from Harvard College and received his medical degree from Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. In addition to serving as dean of the Mailman School since 1986, Dr. Rosenfield is a professor of obstetrics/gynecology at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and has been an active member of the Mailman School’s faculty, written and edited numerous articles, served on the boards of numerous foundations and organizations, and spoken widely. He recently stepped down as chair of the New York State AIDS Advisory Council, a position he held for the past ten years. Recent awards recognizing Dr. Rosenfield’s contributions to public health include the Margaret Sanger Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the reproductive rights movement’s highest honor; the New York Academy of Medicine's Stephen Smith Award for Lifetime Achievement in Public Health; Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health ® Kenneth J. Ryan, MD Physician Leadership Award, Doctors of the World Health and Human Rights Leadership Award; a tribute by the Global Health Council; and inaugural leadership awards from the American Legacy Foundation and the Coalition for School-Based Primary Care.
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