Assistant secretary for health to rejoin HSPH faculty

Howard K. Koh, assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be rejoining the faculty at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) this fall in a new position as a professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership in the Department of Health Policy and Management. In his new role, Koh will also direct the Leading Change Studio, a program of the School’s new doctor of public health program (Harvard DrPH) dedicated to developing public health leadership skills and providing real-world experiential learning opportunities. He will also advise on leadership curriculum efforts across the School’s doctoral and master’s degree programs, and play a liaison role with Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School to strengthen faculty and student collaborations among the three schools.

Koh returns to Harvard after spending five years as the 14th assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As assistant secretary, Koh oversaw 12 core public health offices, including the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, 10 Regional Health Offices across the nation, and 10 Presidential and Secretarial advisory committees. He also served as senior public health advisor to the Secretary. As the assistant secretary for health, Koh strengthened U.S. public health systems in the historic era of the Affordable Care Act and health reform.