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TTUHSC Names New Dean for the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health

Gerard E. Carrino, Ph.D., MPH, has been named dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health.

Carrino, who most recently served as head of the Department of Health Policy & Management at Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has more than 20 years of executive experience at world renowned public health organizations and vital experience in academia.

TTUHSC President Lori Rice-Spearman, Ph.D., said Carrino offers a combination of professional and academic skills necessary to build and lead TTUHSC’s newest school.

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Carrino joining our team,” Rice-Spearman said. “Our goal for this school is to train future health care leaders in a sector of health care that, because of COVID, has been elevated in public awareness and prominence. Dr. Carrino brings a wealth of experience and expertise to share in this field of health care. He also has a great commitment and philosophy to learning and working that reflects our TTUHSC values-based culture.”

Carrino earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Akron in 1989. He received his Master of Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 1991 and Doctor of Philosophy in 2005 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with his focus on economics and public health.

During his six years at TAMU School of Public Health, Carrino led the school’s interprofessional education efforts, oversaw the successful accreditation of its health administration program, and helped to build sustainable degree programs at TAMU’s McAllen, Texas, site.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Carrino join the TTUHSC team as the dean of our newest school, the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health,” TTUHSC Provost and Chief Academic Officer Darrin D’Agostino, D.O., said. “His real-world experience working with population and public health issues will translate into new curriculum, opportunities, and community engagement that will help transform health care in our communities in need. His perspective, proven track record, and work has translated into learning opportunities for his students and will now complement the incredible work our schools bring to West Texas.” 

Among Carrino’s past professional experiences are: senior vice president for the March of Dimes Foundation where he developed and led global forum of more than 9,000 scientists, government officials and health professionals; assistant vice president for administrative planning and project management for Columbia University Medical Center; Island Peer Review Organization director of data analysis where he assured quality-of-care for HIV/AIDS patients in New York State; New York Academy of Medicine senior program officer for the Division of Health and Science Policy; and New York State Council on Graduate Medical Education project liaison.

“I am delighted to be joining Provost D’Agostino, President Rice-Spearman and the whole Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center team,” Carrino said. “I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students – and the entire TTUHSC and Abilene community – to ensure that the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health remains a positive force for health in West Texas.”

Carrino has served on numerous national committees concerned with healthy births, the health care workforce and interprofessional education and collaboration. His research focuses on interprofessional education, maternal and child health and the nonprofit form in health care.

The Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health, which is the sixth at the university, aims to train future health care leaders in population and public health – a sector of health care that has been elevated in public awareness and prominence by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health, which resides on the TTUHSC Abilene, Texas, campus, offers students and researchers a collaborative educational experience, emphasizing research and use of large data sets to understand needs in health care delivery.

Carrino began his new position as dean Feb. 1, 2023.

The Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health named to honor Julia Jones Matthews. 

The footprint of Julia Jones Matthews' legendary philanthropy extends deep and wide across the environment and culture of Abilene. Portending this moment we celebrate today, Ms. Matthews long recognized the importance of healthcare. Over many years, she has magnanimously shared her considerable resources to address health needs in the Abilene community by supporting local healthcare institutions including Hendrick Health, West Texas Rehabilitation Center, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and others. 

Learn more about Julia Jones Matthews

Born in December 1918, much of Judy’s early life was spent in her childhood home on Abilene’s Alta Vista Hill, enjoying the company of her many childhood friends. During her youth, she developed a life-long appreciation of film and spent many afternoons watching the latest film in downtown Abilene’s Paramount Theatre. The pursuit of education led her to the East Coast in 1933. She attended the Miss Maderia boarding school in Virginia where she excelled both academically and athletically. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Massachusetts' Smith College in 1942, she returned home to Abilene. In 1942, she married Albany rancher John Matthews with whom she had five children, Joe, Jill, Watt, Matt and Kade.  

Dutiful service to others is a theme among Matthews family members. Judy’s grandfather, K.K. Legett, helped establish not one but two Abilene institutions of higher learning, Simmons and McMurry Colleges. They are known today as Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University. Her mother, Ruth Legett Jones, was known as “the quiet philanthropist,” preferring to make charitable contributions under the veil of anonymity. Through her work with the Dodge Jones Foundation, which she established in 1954 with her mother and her sister, Edith Jones O’Donnell, Judy employed her family’s resources to improve the lives of others. 

The breadth of her generosity spans the arts, healthcare, education, animal rescue, the zoo and a host of other humanitarian causes.  Ms. Matthews is credited with initiating singlehandedly the revitalization of downtown Abilene in the 1980s. Using grants made through the Dodge Jones Foundation and her personal wealth, she preserved and restored several downtown landmarks, including the Historic Paramount Theater, the Grace Museum and downtown Abilene’s oldest building, the original Windsor Hotel. Dating back to 1890, the three-story brick Windsor building is now home to the Development Corporation of Abilene, Abilene’s economic development organization. DCOA’s residence in this historic landmark poignantly exemplifies the convergence of Abilene’s historic past, Ms. Matthews’ dreams for her hometown, and what is sure to be a prosperous future. Following a seed grant from the Dodge Jones Foundation, the Community Foundation of Abilene was chartered in 1985 and serves an ever-growing reminder of Ms. Matthews’ long-term vision for endowed philanthropy in Abilene.

Her forward-thinking approach to philanthropy provided the impetus for establishing the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campus in Abilene. While she had no official academic connection to Texas Tech University, Ms. Matthews understood the profundity of establishing an institution of higher education in Abilene commissioned to train the next generation of nurses, pharmacists and public health administrators to address the unique healthcare needs of rural West Texas. Her family philanthropic contributions of more than $33 million provided the seminal cornerstone for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Abilene. 

 In 2016, the Texas Senate adopted Senate Resolution 384 to memorialize Ms. Matthews and her 97 years of life. It described her as “A woman of vision, courage, and compassion, she gave unselfishly to others, and her graciousness, her remarkable philanthropic spirit, and her enthusiasm for living each day to the fullest were an inspiration to all who knew her and all who were privileged to share in her life.”  Julia Jones Matthews forever changed the landscape of Abilene. Over a lifetime of "anonymous" philanthropy, she rendered a tour de force for her hometown, quietly, exquisitely, selflessly. Her gracious spirit and her generous heart worked powerful and positive changes among legions throughout the Abilene community and beyond.

Accreditation

In 2018, the Department of Public Health in the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health (JJMSPPH) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) was granted accreditation through 2023 by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

The Council on Education for Public Health is the nationally recognized accrediting body for schools of public health and public health programs. The TTUHSC MPH program was the first school or program to undergo the accreditation process under the council's newly revised guidelines. 

 

Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 220
Silver Spring, MD 20910-5660
Phone: (202) 789-1050
Fax: (202) 789-1895

 

TTUHSC is one of only seven programs in the state of Texas to receive CEPH accreditation. Located on the Lubbock and Abilene campuses and administered by the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health, the Department of Public Health offers the MPH degree program both face-to-face and online. In addition, the department offers a Graduate Certificate in Public Health.

SPPH Faculty Appointments