Mission and Goals:
The CUNY Institute for Health Equity is to serve as a CUNY-wide locus of scholarly and applied work that contributes to the preparation of a cadre of faculty, students and community leaders that understand the social determinants of health and disease and encourage their collaboration to achieve health equity.

Building on the working relationship that CUNY campuses have with surrounding communities, as well as the academic resources of each college, the Institute’s work will identify and address the social determinants of health that contribute to the high rates of morbidity and mortality among these populations. The knowledge obtained will be analyzed, translated and disseminated for application so that these issues can be more effectively addressed.

The CUNY Institute for Health Equity’s mission is three-fold:
• To support capacity-building among non-profit, community-based organizations that are strained to address health problems within their communities, and thereby enable them to better serve and advocate for their communities;
• To provide learning opportunities for students preparing them to address and work toward health equity while making contributions to the community; and
• To facilitate and strengthen multidisciplinary cooperation and health equity research within the CUNY community and beyond.

The CUNY Institute for Health Equity will seek to address health inequity directly through collaboration with community-based organizations, interdisciplinary research, and the preparation of future leaders.

-Dr. Justine McGovern, Interim Director