About Us
A message from Dr. Jerry Carrino, Dean
We at the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health think about health differently.
Rather than working to cure disease or to fix people up after they get sick or hurt, we work to make sure they don't fall ill or become injured in the first place. At the Julia Jones Matthews School, our goal is to ensure the well-being of entire communities and populations, analyzing trends, identifying root causes, and implementing interventions to promote health and wellness on a large scale.
As a student in the School of Population and Public Health, you will examine the complexities of what makes us healthy and unhealthy, learn to recognize patterns, decipher and analyze data, and construct strategies to preserve the health of the communities around us.
The world needs your brain. The world needs your curiosity and your ingenuity, your entrepreneurial spirit, and your creative solutions. Whether you want to help people at a very large scale, or you want to add a population perspective to to clinical healthcare, population and public health is a viable and rewarding option for a health-related course of study and career.
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the vital role of public health in safeguarding our population, but it also emphasized the importance of our mission as we strive to be a force for positive change in healthcare delivery and outcomes.
I am excited to partner with you as we explore the transformative field of population and public health and make an impact in the health and welfare of individuals and communities, both locally and globally. Together, we are the Future of Public Health.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Carrino
Dean, Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
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.
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 2024, the Master of Public Health program in the TTUHSC Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health was granted accreditation through 2031 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. CEPH can be contacted at: Council on Education for Public Health, 800 I St NW, Suite 4008, Washington, DC 20001; Phone: (202) 789-1050; www.ceph.org
Our program first gained accreditation in 2018 and, to date, has graduated over 270 students with the MPH degree.
For more information regarding our recent reaccreditation, click here.
Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
800 I St NW, Suite 4008
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 789-1050
www.ceph.org
SPPH Faculty Appointments
Gerard Carrino, PhD, MPH Dean School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Abilene gerard.carrino@ttuhsc.edu |
Julie St.John, DrPH, MPH, MA, CHWI Associate Professor - Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Abilene julie.st-john@ttuhsc.edu |
Hafiz Khan, PhD Professor - Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Lubbock hafiz.khan@ttuhsc.edu |
Duke Appiah, PhD Associate Professor - Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC- Lubbock duke.appiah@ttuhsc.edu |
Jeff Dennis, PhD Associate Professor Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Lubbock jeff.dennis@ttuhsc.edu |
LisaAnn Gittner, PhD Associate Professor - Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Lubbock lisa.gittner@ttuhsc.edu |
Rubini Pasupathy, PhD, MBA, FACHE Associate Professor - Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Abilene rubini.pasupathy@ttuhsc.edu |
Courtney Queen, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health |
TTUHSC - Abilene courtney.m.queen@ttuhsc.edu |
Adrian Billings, MD Director, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center - Permian Basin Alpine Rural Residency Tract |
TTUHSC - Permian Basinadrian.billings@ttuhsc.edu |
Michael Blanton, PhD Senior Associate Dean-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Pharmacology and Neuroscience |
TTUHSC - Lubbockmichael.blanton@ttuhsc.edu |
Kevin Bridge, MD, MPH Plastic Surgery, Hendrick Health System |
TTUHSC - Abilene kabridge27@gmail.com |
Theresa Byrd, DrPH, MPH, RN Dean - School of Health Professions University of Texas at Tyler |
TTUHSC - Lubbock theresa.byrd@ttuhsc.edu |
Ralph Ferguson, PhD Managing Director, TTU Ethics Center, Fulbright Global Specialist |
TTU - Lubbock ralph.ferguson@ttu.edu |
Debra Flores, PhD Director of West Texas AHEC & Rural Health Programs |
TTUHSC - Lubbock debra.flores@ttuhsc.edu |
Robert Forbis, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Political Science |
TTU - Lubbock robert.forbis@ttu.edu |
Katharine Hayhoe, PhD Associate Professor Department of Political Science |
TTU - Lubbock katharine.hayhoe@ttu.edu |
Coleman Johnson, JD Special Assistant to the President |
TTUHSC - Lubbockcoleman.johnson@ttuhsc.edu |
Cynthia Jumper, MD, BSN, MPH Adjunct Professor, Professor of Medicine, V.P. Governmental Relations & Managed Care |
TTUHSC - Lubbock cynthia.jumper@ttuhsc.edu |
Zuber Mulla, PhD, MSPH Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Assistant Dean for Faculty Development, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine |
TTUHSC - El Paso zuber.mulla@ttuhsc.edu |
Patti Patterson, MD, MPH Professor - Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine |
TTUHSC - Lubbock patti.patterson@ttuhsc.edu |
Billy U. Philips, Jr., PhD, MPH Professor of Family & Community Medicine, Executive Vice President & Director, F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural & Community Health |
TTUHSC - Lubbock billy.philips@ttuhsc.edu |
P. Hemachandra Reddy, PhD Professor and Executive Director, Garrison Institute on Aging |
TTUHSC - Lubbockhemachandra.reddy@ttuhsc.edu |
B. Chip Shaw, PhD Executive Director - CRDW |
TTUHSC - Lubbock chip.shaw@ttuhsc.edu |
Brie D. Sherwin, JD, PhD Associate Professor, Texas Tech University School of Law |
TTU - Lubbock brie.sherwin@ttu.edu |