Global Health Program
The Global Health program, which includes the Global Health Minor, has strong connections to the Elizabeth Hackett Robinson ’84 Innovation Hub. The faculty affiliates of the Global Health program are available to advise and mentor students interested in developing innovative and entrepreneurial projects which involve human beings and to provide opportunities to educate students through experiential learning in social settings.
Description
The Global Health program is built upon the foundation of the Social Determinants of Health, which include economic stability, access to quality education and healthcare, and the social and community context of the environments in which they live, among other factors. Many inequalities exist with respect to access to housing, education, and transportation; exposure to racism, discrimination, violence, or trauma; access to nutritious foods, clean air, and water; and access to high quality and culturally appropriate health care services. These factors have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life, and often manifest as health disparities and inequities. The Global Health program provides a lens in ethical community engagement and viewing an issue or project from many angles of social awareness.
The Innovation Hub offers many resources and opportunities to support students’ development in social innovation and social entrepreneurship. By nature, student projects that provide services to people always carry the risk of unintended harm. The Global Health program helps students better understand the risk of unintended consequences that may result from their project design. Any student interested in social innovation or entrepreneurship can benefit from the faculty advising of the Global Health program.
How to Access the Global Health Program
If your project through the Innovation Hub involves other people, consider scheduling an appointment with the global health faculty affiliates of the Hub, Pam Berenbaum (pberenbaum@middlebury.edu) or David Torres (dtorres@middlebury.edu).
If you are interested in studying Global Health at Middlebury, you can find more information about the Global Health academic minor at go/globalhealth.