The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Bureau (MCHB)
1912: The Children’s Bureau (now the MCHB) is established and housed within the US Department of Commerce and Labor.
1953: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (originally the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) is formed in April 1953.
1954: The University of Minnesota’s Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health is funded by MCHB. Dr. Ruth Boynton, after whom the University’s Health Service is named, served as the Center’s first steward.
1956: Dr. Helen Wallace, the matriarch of MCH programs, joined the School for three years.
1959: Dr. Allyn Bridge from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), joined the School to head the training grant. A pediatrician, Bridge developed ties with the Department of Pediatrics and their clinical services, making the program more available to medical residents. A Children’s Bureau grant also provided faculty positions in nutrition, social work and nursing, expanding the School’s resources in all those areas.
1970s: Dr. Robert W. ten Bensel became the grant Project Director, using the program to build bridges to community agencies. His prodigious energy and ability to speak effectively and persuasively made him one of the School of Public Health’s most effective ambassadors for child welfare.
1980: HRSA is established.
1990s: Dr. Joan Patterson, a child psychologist, became the grant Project Director after Dr. ten Bensel’s retirement. Dr. Patterson succeeded in developing many professional education materials for individuals interested in early childhood mental health and children and youth with special health care needs.
2006: Dr. Wendy Hellerstedt, a reproductive health epidemiologist, became Project Director. She has focused on expanding the Center’s professional education collaborations with University and community partners, and developing the Center’s social media and web presence.
2014: The Center turns sixty, marking six decades of MCH workforce development training.
2015: The Center is renewed by HRSA for 5 additional years, making it one of thirteen Centers of Excellence (COE) in MCH Education, Science and Practice funded by the MCH Bureau.
2017: Dr. Hellerstedt retires from the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. Dr. Jamie Stang becomes the grant Project Director. Dr. Ellen Demerath becomes MPH Program Chair.
2018: The first Minnesota Women’s Health Report Card is created by the Center and MCH students and released in collaboration with MDH.
2020: The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health was successfully renewed by HRSA’s MCH Bureau (MCHB) and enters its 65th-70th years of funding. The Cross-Center Collaboration on the Health of Justice-Involved Women and Children (JIWC) is created and led by MCH Program alumni/Center faculty member Dr. Rebecca Shlafer.
2021: Dr. Zobeida Bonilla becomes the training grant Project Director and MCH Program Chair.
2025: The Center is renewed by HRSA MCHB, continuing into years 70-75 of funding.
Meet the Center team and advisors!