Byllye Avery’s legacy, founded on nearly five decades of dedication to women’s health and feminist leadership, notably through her establishment of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, serves as a cornerstone for this professorship. This academic position is intended to catalyze transformative scholarship, pedagogy, and public engagement within SRJ. The professorship not only honors Avery’s visionary work but reinforces CUNY SPH’s strategic commitment to justice-oriented frameworks in public health education, which prioritize structural change and community-led health solutions.

The professorship will be housed within the CUNY SPH Sexual & Reproductive Justice Hub, a multidisciplinary platform established in 2024 that integrates research, training, and advocacy endeavors aimed at dismantling systemic inequities. This hub promotes community-driven approaches that foreground intersectionality, systemic violence, and the socio-political determinants shaping reproductive health outcomes. It cultivates an academic environment where scholar-activists can generate impactful knowledge and strategize sustainable health justice innovations.

CUNY SPH’s initiative through the professorship involves the advancement of rigorous scholarship that centers the lived experiences and health inequities faced by Black women, Indigenous women, and other marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by systemic oppression. By emphasizing culturally responsive methodologies and justice-based epistemologies, this academic role targets the development of innovative public health solutions. These efforts aim to improve equitable access to reproductive health services domestically and globally, a critical advancement against prevailing disparities.

Integral to the professorship is the commitment to expand and refine curricula that address the complex, intersectional dimensions of sexual and reproductive justice. This pedagogical evolution transcends traditional public health models by infusing social justice theory, human rights frameworks, and activism-oriented praxis into academic training. The professorship seeks to equip emerging public health professionals with analytical tools to critique and transform oppressive systems that undermine autonomy, health equity, and rights-based approaches to sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Byllye Avery emphasized the transformative potential vested in the next generation of student-activists: “Today’s students and activists are coming in with a fire in their belly,” she stated. This professorship aims to embolden them through rigorous academic training and experiential learning, fostering the development of scholar-activists capable of effectuating systemic change both within local communities and on a global scale. The initiative exemplifies an investment in the future of justice-centered public health leadership.

Applications for this prestigious professorship are currently open on CUNY’s LinkedIn platform, signaling an active recruitment of scholars whose work embodies a commitment to justice-driven inquiry and advocacy. This opportunity situates CUNY SPH at the nexus of academic innovation and social justice, inviting public health experts to join a pioneering movement that elevates marginalized voices and perspectives within research and policy paradigms.

Further enhancing the educational impact of the professorship, CUNY SPH will launch a Master of Public Health degree in Sexual and Reproductive Justice and Health (SRJH) starting January 2026. This program, one of the few nationwide, integrates the foundational principles of reproductive justice as articulated by a consortium of Black women leaders in 1994. The SRJH curriculum is intentionally constructed to embed intersectionality, community engagement, and systemic change theory into comprehensive public health training, thereby responding to urgent calls for educational reform in reproductive health.

The SRJH degree is designed to impart both theoretical grounding and practical skills for translating justice-oriented principles into effective policies and interventions. Graduates will be uniquely qualified to advocate for reproductive autonomy, dismantle structural barriers, and champion equitable health rights across diverse populations. This program represents a decisive step toward rectifying historical neglect and systemic bias in reproductive health education and services.

Together, the Sexual & Reproductive Justice Hub, the Byllye Avery Professorship, and the SRJH MPH concentration position CUNY SPH as a vanguard institution reshaping the landscape of sexual and reproductive health education. This triad forms a synergistic ecosystem that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, community partnership, and activist scholarship. As a result, the school is poised to lead a transformative movement that reconfigures public health priorities by centering justice, equity, and human rights in the global reproductive health agenda.

CUNY SPH’s deepened commitment to sexual and reproductive justice reflects a paradigm shift in public health education, moving beyond reductive biomedical models towards healing approaches that are holistic, intersectional, and rooted in social justice activism. This focus acknowledges the inseparability of health outcomes from socio-political contexts, particularly the historical and ongoing impacts of racism, colonialism, and gender oppression. Through this professorship and related academic innovations, CUNY SPH cultivates an urgent and necessary discourse on the future of reproductive justice and public health.

The establishment of this professorship arrives at a critical moment when reproductive rights and health equity face increasing threats globally. It offers a beacon of hope and concrete academic infrastructure for sustaining and advancing movements that demand bodily autonomy, equitable health access, and systemic reform. By embedding these values within training and scholarship, CUNY SPH actively contributes to a future where reproductive justice is an integral and non-negotiable component of public health.

Media inquiries regarding this pioneering initiative can be directed to Katherine Hartley, Press Relations Manager at the CUNY SPH Sexual & Reproductive Justice Hub (katherine.hartley@sph.cuny.edu). As this new chapter unfolds, CUNY SPH reiterates its foundational mission to promote healthier populations through knowledge, advocacy, and social justice.

Subject of Research: Sexual and Reproductive Justice, Public Health Education, Health Equity

Article Title: CUNY SPH Launches Nation’s First Byllye Avery Professorship in Sexual & Reproductive Justice

News Publication Date: November 3, 2025

Web References:

• https://sph.cuny.edu/
• https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4309351389/
• http://sph.cuny.edu/research/srj-hub/

Image Credits: CUNY SPH

Keywords: Public health, Feminism, Sexuality

The SRJH concentration emerges within the Department of Community Health and Social Sciences at CUNY SPH, symbolizing a progressive approach that integrates comprehensive public health theories, research methodologies, and applied practices. Through a curriculum that encompasses 42 credits of rigorous academic and field-based training, students will acquire the necessary skills to navigate and influence the multifaceted landscape of sexual and reproductive health. This includes in-depth exploration of maternal and child health disparities, reproductive rights controversies, and global health challenges that affect marginalized communities disproportionately.

A defining element of the concentration is its grounding in the reproductive justice framework, pioneered by a coalition of Black women leaders in the mid-1990s. This framework extends beyond the conventional reproductive rights discourse by incorporating intersectional analyses that account for race, class, gender identity, sexuality, and structural oppression. By embedding this framework within the curriculum, students are challenged to critically analyze how systemic inequities and societal power structures dictate health outcomes and access to care, ultimately fostering a transformative educational experience.

Courses within the concentration are purposely interdisciplinary, merging public health sciences with policy analysis, legal studies, leadership development, and advocacy training. This integrative approach allows students to engage with sexual and reproductive health issues not only as biological phenomena but as complex social justice challenges rooted in systemic discrimination and historical marginalization. Experiential learning components enable students to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world contexts, engaging with communities and organizations that are at the forefront of sexual and reproductive justice movements.

The development of the SRJH concentration was notably collaborative, spearheaded by the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Hub at CUNY SPH. This hub convened a diverse array of stakeholders, including faculty experts, community activists, public health practitioners, and students who collectively informed the curriculum’s direction. Such a collaborative design process ensures that the educational content maintains academic rigor while remaining firmly attuned to the lived experiences and urgent needs of populations most affected by reproductive injustices.

Terry McGovern, the senior associate dean for academic and student affairs, emphasizes the program’s timely relevance. She notes that the evolving landscape of public health demands leaders who are not only knowledgeable but who also embody a commitment to justice-driven solutions. The SRJH concentration is thus positioned to cultivate a cadre of public health professionals ready to engage with contemporary challenges such as the erosion of reproductive rights, systemic healthcare inequities, and the public health implications of policy shifts both domestically and internationally.

The program’s inclusion of legal and policy education addresses the increasingly contested landscape of reproductive rights. Students will dissect landmark court decisions, legislative trends, and policy interventions that shape access to contraception, abortion services, and comprehensive sexual health education. This legal literacy is complemented by training in leadership and community organizing strategies, equipping graduates to function effectively in advocacy roles, public health departments, non-governmental organizations, and research institutions.

In addition to domestic considerations, the SRJH concentration incorporates a global health perspective, recognizing that sexual and reproductive health challenges transcend national boundaries. Students examine the impact of globalization, migration, and international human rights frameworks on reproductive health services and outcomes worldwide. This global orientation enhances their capacity to design and implement interventions that are contextually relevant and culturally sensitive, promoting equity on an international scale.

Lynn Roberts, associate dean of student affairs and alumni relations, articulates the vision behind the curriculum’s critical framing. The program intentionally prompts students to interrogate existing health systems and social policies that perpetuate disparities, encouraging innovative thinking and praxis to disrupt these dynamics. By fostering analytical and practical competencies, the concentration prepares graduates not merely to participate in the field of public health but to become transformative agents of change dedicated to justice and equity.

The SRJH concentration also responds to the intersectional realities faced by marginalized groups affected by compounded injustices. By centering the voices and experiences of communities historically excluded from policy dialogues and healthcare decision-making, the program nurtures culturally competent practitioners. Such competencies are indispensable for addressing barriers related to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and geographic location that influence sexual and reproductive health outcomes.

This educational initiative at CUNY SPH embodies a broader movement within public health to conceptualize health equity not as an aspirational ideal but as an actionable framework. Through its comprehensive, justice-oriented curriculum, the MPH concentration in sexual and reproductive justice and health exemplifies how academic programs can contribute to reshaping public health practice, policy, and research to better serve diverse populations at risk.

Prospective students enrolling in this concentration will graduate equipped with a robust theoretical foundation, practical skills, and a deeply ingrained commitment to advancing health equity. They will be prepared to engage across sectors, translating evidence into effective policies and programs that dismantle systemic barriers and promote reproductive justice. CUNY SPH’s pioneering approach positions its graduates to be leaders in a field that is at the nexus of human rights, social justice, and public health imperatives.

As reproductive health continues to be a contentious and evolving arena, the MPH in SRJH offers a vital educational pathway that aligns scientific inquiry with activist principles. In doing so, it reflects CUNY SPH’s longstanding dedication to social justice and positions the institution at the forefront of training the next generation of public health leaders tasked with addressing some of the most pressing health equity challenges of our time.

Subject of Research: Sexual and reproductive justice and health education; health equity; public health training

Article Title: CUNY SPH Launches Innovative MPH Concentration in Sexual and Reproductive Justice and Health

News Publication Date: September 9, 2025

Web References:

• CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy: https://sph.cuny.edu/
• Sexual and Reproductive Justice Hub: https://sph.cuny.edu/research/srj-hub/

Image Credits: Credit: CUNY SPH

Keywords: Public health, Gender studies, Sexual orientation, Women’s studies, Feminism, Gender identity