ASPPH Welch-Rose Award
Congratulations to the 2026 ASPPH Award Winners
Distinction in Public Health
Excellence in Academic Public Health Service
2026 Award Recipient
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
The ASPPH Welch-Rose Award recognizes exemplary leadership and scholarship in public health. The award honors individuals in one of two distinct categories:
- Distinction in Public Health – honoring individuals who have made lifetime contributions to improving the health of the public.
- Excellence in Academic Public Health Service – honoring individuals who have made extraordinary and enduring contributions to advancing public health education.
This prestigious award pays tribute to Drs. Wickliffe Rose and William Henry Welch, whose 1915 report laid the foundation for the modern structure of academic public health and continues to shape the field today.
Award Criteria
Nominees should demonstrate:
- Innovative leadership in public health practice or education
- Significant and sustained impact on academic public health or a lifetime record of service to the field
Eligibility
- Affliation with a CEPH-accredited institution is not required
- Current ASPPH primary representatices and deans are not eligible for consideration
Required Materials
Nominations may be submitted by any public health professional. The Award Selection Committee may also solicit nominations directly.
Each nomination must include:
- Full contact information for both the nominee and the nominator.
- An overview statement (max. 800 words) outlining the nominee’s distinguished contributions, specifying either:
- Extraordinary impact on academic public health, or
- A lifetime of Public Health Service.
Award Details
Complimentary registration for ASPPH Annual Meeting
Recognition at the Awards Ceremony
Crystal Award
Review & Selection Process
All nominations are reviewed by the ASPPH Executive Board.
Final awardees are selected through deliberation and consensus by ASPPH leadership and the board’s Award Selection Committee.
Past Winners
2025
William E. Bertrand, PhD
Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
2025
Donna J. Petersen, ScD, MHS, CPH, FAAAS
University of South Florida College of Public Health
2024
Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, MPH
University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health
2023
James Curran, MD, MPH
Institution NameEmory University Rollins School of Public Health
2022
Sara Rosenbaum, JD
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
2022
Stephen Shortell, PHD, MPH, MBA
University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health
2021
Anthony Fauci, MD
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
2021
Charles S. Mahan, MD
University of South Florida College of Public Health
2019
Linda Rosenstock, MD, MPH
UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health
2018
Richard Riegelman, MD, PhD, MPH
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
2017
Harrison C. Spencer, MD, MPH, CPH
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
2016
Julio Frenk, MD, PhD, MPH
University of Miami
2015
Alfred Sommer, MD, MHS
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health