After the David B. Falk College of Sport went through a restructuring, public health students are experiencing their first semester in a new college
Ela Pllumaj remembers finding out about the renaming of the David B. Falk College of Sport from the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics in an April 2024 email.
“I was shocked and annoyed,” Pllumaj said. “(The university) could’ve done a better job at letting us know that we were no longer in Falk, than just sending out an email.”
Pllumaj and other former students of the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamic said the move felt abrupt. A public health and neuroscience major, Pllumaj is one of hundreds of public health students that joined the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs this fall after their major left the Falk College. The official move was made on July 1.
While some public health students were initially shocked by the original news of the move, Pllumaj believes the public health program will benefit from its new place in Maxwell.
“I do think the switch is for the best. Public health is a field that involves policy, and with the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health being in Maxwell, it just makes sense,” Pllumaj said. “A lot of work that we do in public health is health related, but it’s also about understanding community needs and being a voice for the community and I think this matches well with the mission of Maxwell.”
Public health junior, Nicholas Deford, agrees with Pllumaj. “For me personally, when I think of public health, because of my concentration in health care management, I picture it less in a science or human development way and more in a civic way, which really does align with Maxwell,” Deford said.
But this isn’t the case for all public health students, Deford said. “For students that are in public health on the pre-health route maybe wanting to become medical doctors one day… I can understand how that move would make me feel less valued as a student.”
For SU sophomore Sienna Montanari, in the public health minor program, the shift doesn’t align with her career path. “As a social work major, wanting to do medical social work, the move away from Falk isn’t great for me,” Montanari said.
Over the summer, Montanari was told that in the Maxwell School the public health minor would be more policy-focused. The Maxwell School is nationally-recognized for public affairs and known for its work across the social sciences. Public Health Department Chair Dave Larsen sees this as an opportunity for public health studies at SU.
“We are thrilled with the move to the Maxwell School,” Larsen said in a release. “Our programs, students and research in public health align well with Maxwell’s mission and goals.”
While Montanari recognizes that the move isn’t a fit for her personally, like Larsen, she sees the potential for public health’s success in Maxwell. “The city of Syracuse has so much need and I think a policy-focused path could really open up doors for impact. I’d love to see more students get involved in the local community,” Montanari said.
Public health at Falk did a great job at making a small, local impact, according to Montanari. She remembers peers’ involvement spanning from the Red Cross to local animal shelters. But she envisions a larger scale impact with Maxwell’s resources.
“Maxwell has the connections, the recognition, to allow the public health program in SU to grow bigger. And, the transition to Maxwell has gone smoothly,” Pllumaj said.