The USF College of Public Health (COPH) has named Cynthia M. Harris, PhD, the 2022 Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health.

The college bestows the award each year to a woman whose career accomplishments and leadership contribute significantly to the field of public health in Florida. Harris received the award at the USF COPH National Public Health Week Virtual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 6.

Harris currently serves as the associate dean for public health in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, where she is also a professor.

Harris has over 30 years of expertise, leadership and training in successfully implementing community-based participatory research with a focus on environmental health and toxicology. She is nationally known for her content expertise in environmental health and environmental toxicology.

“Through the years, I have observed her work and commitment to public health and FAMU’s public health program. Harris led the program through its inaugural accreditation in 2000 and three successive re-accreditation cycles after, all with maximum tenure and no non-compliant findings,” said Dr. Larry Robinson, president of FAMU.

A former branch chief with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), Harris was the first African-American to serve in that position. She was also the recipient of a USPHS award for serving as program director of the First National Health Conference, with a focus on environmental justice.

Harris has been successful in receiving state and federal research funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the development of a toxicology curriculum for lay community members and development of a protocol for the reduction of eye injuries in migrant citrus workers in Apopka, Fla.

Under her leadership, more than 70 local organizations and agencies received mini-grant funding to sustain their health and wellness initiatives to combat obesity in children. In addition, Harris has more than 10 years of experience addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the health professions. She is the director of both the Florida Alliance for Health Professions Diversity and the Florida Health Equity Research Institute Education and Training Core.

Harris tackled the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic directly in Leon County, Fla., and beyond. She is responsible for the development of the FAMU-Bond Community Health Center COVID-19 Testing Site. She still serves as one of the coordinators of the site and assisted in the development of the FAMU Community Vaccine Administration Center. In addition, Harris is the principal investigator of the joint FAMU-Department of Health COVID-19 Outreach, Education and Training Program. This statewide program is tasked with addressing vaccine hesitancy in predominantly black and brown communities.

“This is such an honor!” Harris said at the NPHW Awards Ceremony. “To everyone who practices public health, no matter what you may come across, public health matters and you matter. Don’t ever doubt that. Public health is a calling, more so than a career. Also keep in mind that communities don’t care how much you know until they know how much that you care.”

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health