PHSA Mission and Official Seal: "Fiat Lux"
What It Means for Our Heritage and Future as Public Health Professionals
The mission and the official Seal of the PHSA define our goals, our roles and our futures.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Purpose of the Public Health Student Association (PHSA) is to serve as the academic and social needs of association members, to serve as liaison between students, the administration and faculty, to encourage and promote community involvement by association members, and to stimulate interest in and advance the profession of public health.
THE SEAL OF THE PHSA
The Seal of the PHSA was designed during the summer of 2003 and first used at the School of Public Health New Student Orientation on September 23, 2003. The seal represents a combination of interests.
- The PHSA seal’s outline comes from the emblem of the UCLA School of Public Health.
- The five pointed star comes directly from the current seal of the University of California. It is specifically beset in the bottom right to represent that the PHSA is just a part of the light that stems from the University of California.
- Finally, Fiat Lux – “Let there be light!” in Latin -- is the University of California’s motto.
On the Original Seal of the University of California, designed by Tiffany and Company between 1903 and 1910, “Fiat Lux” was used on the seal. In the 1930s the Latin “Fiat Lux” was replaced by the English translation “Let there be light.”
Thus, the “Fiat Lux”, star and emanating rays borrowed from the original seal of the University and the outline of the UCLA School of public Health Seal were combined to form the seal of the PHSA.
The PHSA seal represents a combination of the past, present and future of the University of California and the students of the UCLA School of Public Health.