LGBTQ public health is not a niche issue, it is central to the mission of public health itself.
In “LGBTQ Public Health Is Public Health: Advancing Equity When Institutions Falter,” published in the American Journal of Public Health, Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, and Kristen D. Krause, assistant professor and previous director of the school’s LGBTQ Health concentration, trace the evolution of LGBTQ health from grassroots activism during the HIV/AIDS epidemic to its growing institutional presence in academic public health.
“Public health is both a scientific and profoundly human enterprise,” they write, emphasizing that advancing health equity requires evidence, compassion, and the courage to confront injustice.
The editorial highlights Rutgers School of Public Health’s role as home to the nation’s first Master of Public Health concentration in LGBTQ Health. Established under Halkitis’ leadership and formally directed by Krause, the program was designed not as an elective add-on but as a declaration that LGBTQ health belongs at the center of public health education. Today, the graduate program is offered in a hybrid format, where students are required to attend a single in-person immersion session during their first fall semester. All other courses are offered 100% online.
The school has expanded faculty scholarship in sexual and gender minority health, established the first endowed chair in LGBTQ Public Health, launched a Sexual and Gender Minority Health Institute, and founded the Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health.
“As part of our continued commitment to advancing LGBTQ health, we were proud to welcome Tamara Taggart, who is leading the launch of our Sexual and Gender Minority Health Institute, which is an initiative designed to bridge research, clinical care, and public health service,” said Halkitis. “This milestone has been made possible through the generosity of James F. Dougherty, whose support established the LGBTQ Endowed Chair, strengthening our ability to advance scholarship, training, and innovation in LGBTQ public health.”
The authors situate these efforts within a broader national context. They note that more than 850 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2025 alone, alongside attempts to restrict gender-affirming care, limit discussions of identity in schools, and undermine marriage equality.
They also describe recent rescissions of federal grants supporting LGBTQ health research, which were later reinstated following public outcry.
Against this backdrop, the authors argue that academic public health institutions must remain steadfast.
“Inclusion is not an accessory to excellence,” says Krause. “It is its foundation,” she adds, invoking the “curb-cut effect”—the idea that policies designed to support marginalized communities ultimately benefit society as a whole.
At the Rutgers School of Public Health, that philosophy extends beyond a single concentration. The school has introduced additional forward-looking areas of study, including sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice (100% online), sustainability and health, population mental health, and population aging (100% online) —each grounded in a multidisciplinary, human-centered vision of public health.
The editorial concludes with a call to action for academic leaders and public health professionals nationwide.
“When institutions falter, we endure—and in doing so, we reaffirm what public health, at its most human, courageous, and just, truly means,” concludes Halkitis, who is also author of the forthcoming book Humanizing Public Health: How Disease-Centered Approaches Have Failed Us that explores these very themes.
The full editorial appears in the February 2026 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
