Dr. Rosenfield, who is also dean of the Mailman School of Public Health said, "I want to express our deepest appreciation to the Gates Foundation for this extraordinary opportunity to help women around the world. We are honored by the trust that the Foundation has placed in us."

Bill and Melinda Gates have endowed two foundations with $6.5 billion to support philanthropic initiatives in areas that are of particular concern to them. The William H. Gates Foundation provides grants in the area of global health to improve the lives of women and children; education to support access to lifelong learning for young people and adults alike; and community giving in the Pacific Northwest to support civic and arts organizations in the local community that address the needs of children and families.

In early 1998, the Foundation made a grant to the Center for Population and Family Health of $1.36 million to fund programs to help prevent maternal mortality, bring effective health services to refugees, and integrate family planning with HIV prevention services to rural Ugandan women.

The only accredited school of public health in the New York metropolitan area and among the first in the nation, the Mailman School of Public Health provides instruction and research opportunities to 650 graduate students in pursuit of masters and doctoral degrees. Its students and 150 multi-disciplinary faculty engage in research and service in the city, nation, and around the world, concentrating on biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health and sociomedical sciences.

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Contact: Virgil Renzulli, Office of Public Affairs
renzulli@columbia.edu
212-854-5576
Columbia University
10-May-1999