Ashish Jha, current White House COVID-19 response coordinator, will return to Brown and resume his role as dean of the School of Public Health starting July 1, according to a June 8 press release from the University. Interim Dean Ronald Aubert will become senior associate dean of education at the School of Public Health following Jha’s return.
Jha took a leave from SPH April 5, 2022 following his appointment to the White House, The Herald previously reported. Aubert stepped into the role of interim dean April 6.
“We are in a world drastically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jha said in the release. “For all we have accomplished to reduce illness and save lives, COVID-19 has exposed the weaknesses in our public health and health care systems.”
“I look forward to returning to Brown to continue our groundbreaking work transforming public health education, research and practice to convert these weaknesses to strengths,” he added.
As COVID-19 response coordinator, Jha took the reins of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response team from Jeff Zients P’23 and oversaw the country’s recovery from the pandemic over the last year. His departure from the role follows an end to the national COVID-19 public health emergency May 11.
In an email to the SPH community, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 praised Aubert’s public health leadership during Jha’s leave.
“Ron has provided outstanding direction and ensured the continued growth of important efforts that will improve public health globally, including the significant growth of the Health Equity Scholars Program and the launch of the Pandemic Center last September,” Paxson wrote in the email. “We want to thank Ron for his guidance and dedication over the past 13 months.”
Paxson also expressed excitement about Jha’s return. “Ashish’s return to Brown offers opportunities for policy insights from the nation’s pandemic response to inform the education of the next generation of public health leaders.”
Neil Mehta is the editor-in-chief and president of the Brown Daily Herald's 134th editorial board. They study public health and statistics at Brown. Outside the office, you can find Neil baking and playing Tetris.
