Federal policymaker to head UIC Urban Health Program
Jamila R. Rashid Photo: Jenny Fontaine/UIC Office of Public Affairs (click on image for larger file size)
Jamila R. Rashid, noted minority health official and advocate at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has been named executive director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Urban Health Program.
Her appointment was approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its July meeting.
Rashid will be responsible for developing programs that bring minority and underrepresented pre-college, undergraduate and graduate students in Chicago into careers in the health care professions.
“Throughout her public health career, Dr. Rashid has maintained a commitment to increasing the number of minorities in the health professions and has personally contributed to the matriculation and professional success of numerous students and young professionals,” said Dr. Saul Weiner, professor of medicine and vice provost for planning and programs at UIC.
“Her passion and experience in advancing minorities in the health professions, coupled with her collaborative leadership style are a great fit for this important role.”
Rashid has had a long relationship with UIC, where she earned a Ph.D. in policy research and evaluation studies, a master’s degree in public health, and where she has been adjunct assistant professor of health policy administration in the School of Public Health.
Rashid was associate director for research and policy at the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
In that role, she advised the director and deputy assistant secretary for minority health on healthcare disparities issues and led several national and community based public health initiatives to reduce health and healthcare disparities, including the “Eliminating Health Disparities in Lupus Initiative. She also spearheaded a national partnership between Health and Human Services and Walgreens, Inc. to provide free flu vaccinations to the uninsured and underinsured.
Rashid also held several positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including vulnerable populations officer in the Coordinating Center for Terrorism Preparedness and Response; acting associate director of health disparities in the National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention; team leader for CDC Research Agenda Development and Promotion in the Office of Public Health Science; and associate director for policy, planning and evaluation in the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities.
About the UIC Urban Health Program
