The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship moves to School of Public Health

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health have partnered to unite aspirations to train the next generation of public health leaders. As the new host of the program, the School of Public Health joins the fellowship's mission to prepare students to empower vulnerable people to live healthier lives and create healthier communities.  

"As the new local host of the fellowship, I hope to strengthen the public health training that fellows receive, while continuing to offer educational experiences that complement their graduate curriculum,” said Andrea Link, assistant professor of the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Every year, the Schweitzer Fellowship carefully selects students across the U.S. driven by a profound commitment to uplift vulnerable populations through impactful research projects. At each local chapter, admitted fellows forge partnerships with health and community experts, leveraging those connections to propel their research forward and bring their research interests into action.  

Former Houston-Galveston Chapter fellows have produced projects in homeless support, mental health awareness, refugee health, nutrition, human trafficking survivors care, LGBTQIA+ support, children and elderly health, smartphone health apps, mobile health clinics, healthcare education, and more. Each project allows mentors and students to create innovative strategies to drive positive change in public health. Fellows embark on a transformative journey as they collaborate with local community agencies to craft impactful service projects. 

"Public health students become leaders within the program because of their deeper understanding of public health precepts; this leads to outstanding projects that often go on to publication or presentation at conferences," said Link, who also serves as the executive director of the Schweitzer Fellowship.  

Since its founding in 1940, The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship remains committed in their vision of creating a “global corps of leaders who promote positive change with and in communities, health and human services, systems, and our world.” As the new host of the fellowship opportunity, the school and fellowship will work together to enhance community health, foster innovation, develop groundbreaking research, and advance sustainable initiatives.