Michael and Lori Milken Dean of Public Health Lynn R. Goldman, who has helmed the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health since 2010, announced this week that she will step back. While Goldman’s term as dean will end on June 30, 2025, she will remain a tenured member of the faculty.
“As I reflect on my journey as dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health, I am filled with gratitude for the incredible support of my colleagues, the Milken family, our staff and students and our donors and funders,” Goldman said. “Leading this school through a transformative period has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I will always be committed to the success of GW and our school, and I look forward to supporting the transition in any way I can.”
GW’s public health enterprise has transformed through Goldman’s leadership. Under her stewardship, the school rose in national rankings from 19th in 2010 to 11th in 2024. Its endowment has grown from $1.1 million to more than $130 million.
"Dean Goldman is a remarkable leader who has elevated the Milken Institute School of Public Health to new heights of excellence," said GW President Ellen M. Granberg. "During her tenure, the school has become a premier destination for public health education and an influential voice in global health policy. Her commitment to advancing public health and preparing the next generation of health leaders has left an indelible mark on GW, and I am grateful she will continue her important work as a member of our faculty."
Michael Milken, HON '23, said that Goldman’s profound impact on public health is "widely appreciated and respected by those of us who have worked with her for many years."
"But the far greater impact is on those millions of people who will never know her—who have never heard her name—and yet whose lives are healthier, even longer, because of her work as a physician, epidemiologist and environmental health specialist," he said. "As a national leader in public health education, her mentorship and unwavering commitment has inspired thousands of students to emulate her work in the field. That will save untold numbers of lives. The Milken Institute team and I first met Lynn at the 2012 Celebration of Science as we worked to renew the nation’s commitment to medical research. Largely because of Lynn and her dedication to our mutual cause, we endowed GW’s public health school in 2014 and have worked closely with her over the years since.
"My wife Lori and I created a separate endowment for the dean of the school. With the university, we also endowed a chair in her name. We congratulate Lynn for elevating the standards of public health and we look forward to a continuing long relationship with her."
GW Provost Christopher A. Bracey noted that Goldman’s steady and innovative leadership “has ensured that the Milken Institute School of Public Health has continued to grow and excel as a high-impact hub of research, education and policy.”
“Her many achievements have raised GW’s profile and reputation as a leading research university. I am grateful for her years of dedication to our public health faculty, students, and staff, as well as her invaluable contributions on my senior leadership team.”
In 2014, the school secured the largest philanthropic gift in GW’s history, comprising a total of $80 million from the Milken Institute, the Milken Family Foundation and the Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation. In honor of these gifts, the school was renamed from the School of Public Health and Health Services to the Milken Institute School of Public Health, and the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness was established.
In addition to these record-breaking gifts, the Milken Institute SPH has received multimillion-dollar donations from the Atlantic Philanthropies, Holly Gill and Professor Jim Lebovic, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund, among many others.
“These significant contributions highlight the school’s strong value proposition and demonstrate deep confidence in its ability to carry out groundbreaking research, important global health and wellness initiatives, and leadership in public health education,” Goldman said. “It is also a testament to their faith in GW as a vibrant and innovative institution of higher education that positively impacts the world.”
Goldman also led a process in collaboration with GW’s construction team and contractors to ensure that the Milken Institute SPH’s building on Washington Circle is a hub for interdisciplinary research and collaborative learning that is welcoming, provides space to convene people from the D.C. community involved with health, promotes physical activity and reflects the Milken Institute SPH’s commitment to sustainability, having earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating. It was the first university project in Washington, D.C., to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest certification for innovative sustainable design. The 115,000-square-foot modern facility, which opened in 2015, is the first in the school’s history to house all seven Milken Institute SPH departments under one roof. The school also expanded into a suite of cutting-edge public health laboratory facilities on the seventh floor of GW’s Science and Engineering Hall, enlarging its research capabilities in areas like microbiology and virology, immunology, vaccine development, genomics, environmental health and nutrition.
Prior to her arrival at GW, Goldman was a professor at Johns Hopkins University, where she did research on children’s health and environment and disaster preparedness. Before that, she was Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she oversaw the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. An expert in pediatric environmental health and chemicals and pesticide policy, she was engaged in translating research to policy through policy analyses and congressional testimony. Through her service at EPA, Congress successfully passed reforms to federal pesticide laws through the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act.
Before her time at EPA, Goldman directed the Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control for the California Department of Public Health, where she led research on pesticides and toxic chemicals, some of which led to legislation establishing California’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Much later, while at GW, she testified in support of reform to federal chemicals law (the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century). In all these endeavors, a consistent thread was Goldman’s passion for protecting children and other vulnerable populations from the toxic effects of environmental contaminants like pesticides, industrial chemicals and lead.
Goldman’s contributions to public health as a pediatrician and epidemiologist and her extensive service have been recognized repeatedly. Her prestigious honors include membership in the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the NAM Walsh McDermott Service Award, the Heinz Award for Global Environmental Change, the American Public Health Association Environment Section's Homer M. Calver Award, the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars and alumni awards from both the University of California (UC) San Francisco and UC Berkeley. She is a trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund and is past chair of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and has served on science advisory committees to CDC, NIH and FDA.
In a GW career crowded with memorable moments and substantive achievements, a standout point of pride for Goldman is the launch of seven new Ph.D. programs at Milken Institute SPH. Before her tenure as dean, the school had professional Dr.P.H. programs but no academic doctoral programs. As part of her commitment to supporting future generations via philanthropy from Michael and Lori Milken, Goldman has established a fund to support doctoral scholars, ensuring the sustainability of public health excellence at GW.
“We are mainly a professional school, and our professional programs are amazing. I remember how thrilled I was when that first academic doctoral program, the epidemiology Ph.D., was approved,” Goldman said. “Now we have seven. Every time we've been able to create one of these programs, I’m walking on air because I know what that means to our school and our academic community: Not only are we teaching tomorrow's public health professionals and leaders, but we're also training the researchers who create our fundamental understandings of public health and prevention and wellness. At the same time, establishing Ph.D. programs enabled us to refocus the Dr.P.H. around its purpose in training future leaders in public health professions. That too has been a smashing success and we now have one of the most successful Dr.P.H. programs in the country.”
Goldman actively contributed to GW’s and D.C.’s public health response to COVID-19, both at the height of the pandemic and in its aftershocks. As difficult and heartbreaking as the peak COVID-19 era was, Goldman said, she was also inspired by how the school, and all of GW, rose to the challenge.
“We all had multiple jobs, and we were all as mobilized as possible. Our faculty, students, and staff were doing everything we could within GW and in our communities, locally, nationally and globally,” she said. “People across GW, who I had never met before the pandemic, came together in the crisis to save lives, whether by putting in place environmental barriers to virus transmission, by taking care of our students, faculty and staff, or, later, by assuring that members of our GW community received vaccines when so many who were unvaccinated were dying. It was uplifting and gave me a strong sense of the generosity and dedication across GW’s leadership, faculty and staff.”
Goldman is an advocate for early warning systems to prevent future outbreaks—and one of the most effective tools for prevention is a robust, well-trained cohort of public health experts worldwide.
“A highlight of my life was last May, when we had a record number of graduates,” Goldman said. “They will go on to have an impact on health, well-being and safety for people all across the planet.”
Goldman will retain her position as a tenured faculty member at Milken Institute SPH and said she has enormous pride in the faculty. “I love that we have maintained our standing as one of the most outstanding programs in the country in terms of the quality of teaching,” she said. “My faculty care a lot about being charismatic, wise and highly proficient in the classroom, producing knowledge through our research and translating that knowledge so that it informs public health policy and practice. As a school of public health in Washington, D.C., the opportunities for faculty and students are unparalleled. No one else can provide the experiences that we can provide.”
Above all, Goldman said she is grateful for her time as dean of Milken Institute SPH, proud of the school’s achievements, and looking forward to continuing to play a role in their future as they continue to make a national impact on public health policy and practice.
“I am filled with a sense of optimism for the future of this school and this university, and I think that my optimism is part of why I'm ready to make this change at this point,” she said. “The passion for excellence that our institution’s leadership shows makes me confident that I’m leaving my school in a great place and in great hands to guide it forward.”
