The Educated Citizen and Public Health:
2008 Undergraduate Curriculum Development Institute

Participant Abstracts

Bates College

Bates College is a small, liberal arts institution with a long history of community collaboration and social service.  Two years ago, the faculty adopted new general education requirements which included a variety of interdisciplinary concentrations referred to as GECs (general education concentrations).  The College’s Harward Center for Community Partnerships and faculty from a variety of disciplines proposed that one such general education concentration be in the area of public health.  The description of the now-approved public health GEC (C065) is appended, and includes courses from all the College’s divisions, as well as service learning options.  The GEC features many courses that are typical core requirements in undergraduate public health curricula, including epidemiology, courses in the social sciences, and those emphasizing global health. However, the GEC lacks an interdisciplinary course in public health, and one goal of the curriculum planning team is to learn more about public health offerings at undergraduate institutions.  The public health GEC intentionally includes options involving community placements. Over the last several years, Bates has developed strong alliances with local public health agencies serving both rural and urban populations in central Maine. The health needs in the community are enormous, and both the city and the State are currently developing structures to address these challenges.  It is therefore an optimal time for the College and its community partners to develop opportunities in public health education.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The fear of further epidemics such as SARS or Avian flu, the obesogenic epidemic related to unhealthy lifestyles, the pressures on health care systems from growing elderly populations and the threat to health from environmental pollution all serve to highlight the need not only for the medical profession but for many others to be involved in the health of our communities and have a better understanding of public health. High school students in Hong Kong will, from 2009, all study some basic public health in liberal studies. This will stimulate students’ interest in public health, and it also promotes the need for informed teachers in the future. The increasing recognition between economic prosperity and better health underscores the need for greater understanding of the socio economic determinants of health and the multidisciplinary response required in many sectors.

The current Minor programme and the new Major degree programme in Public Health at our university will provide education not only to those wishing to follow a career in public health and medical administration but also for those for whom an understanding of public health can contribute to better career employment opportunities in a wide range of sectors including NGOs, law, education, business and policy. It will provide a comprehensive understanding of the basics of public health and the practicum in Year 4 in specialized areas of public health practice will also introduce students to potential employers. Benchmarking with similar international initiatives in US and UK as well as maximizing our close links with mainland China will provide opportunities for academic exchanges.

University of Colorado Denver

            The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver is currently planning to start an undergraduate major in Public Health in the Fall of 2009.  This major would be one of the largest on campus, as indicated by a needs-assessment survey based on a survey of freshmen who were randomly drawn from the College enrollment files.  The upper administration is committed to the development of this major for a number reasons, including (a) it is consistent with the College strategic plan to increase enrollment by 75% over ten years, and (b) it is also consistent with the University strategic plan to better bridge the downtown and medical campuses.  A unique opportunity to develop this major is present because the Colorado School of Public Health – which will be the only accredited SPH in an eleven state region – is opening its doors this Fall.  The steering committee for the major includes two faculty from the School of Public Health who are committed to the creation of a strong major.  The undergraduate major also has the support of the Dean of the School of Public Health.

            Our team hopes to draw from the experiences of others who are also developing public health programs within a Liberal Arts framework.  We seek to make the program interdisciplinary and draw on multiple, disciplinary perspectives so that students develop a critical approach to public health and the current health care system.

Creighton University

Creighton University is in the planning stages, at the request of our associate dean, to develop a public health minor for our students. Our core values of service, the inalienable worth of each individual and appreciation of ethnic and cultural diversity, are fully compatible with the idea of producing citizens knowledgeable about public health.  We have the advantage of the assistance of faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Health Sciences to develop and teach two core courses – Introduction to Public Health and Epidemiology.  Faculty for these two courses have already been identified.  We already have four courses in Global Health to round out the core.  Public health education offers us the opportunity to engage many departments in the School of Arts and Sciences.  A subcommittee of our Network is currently meeting with departments to identify courses that would supplement the core suggested in the AACU curriculum to reach the required 18 hours for a minor. These include health administration and policy (HAP, out of which the minor would be administered) biology, environmental science, social work, sociology/anthropology, political science, nursing, exercise science, journalism, communication studies, peace and justice studies and senior perspective ethics.  We intend that each of the core courses contains service learning experiences. In addition to the regular public health minors program we are proposing a certificate program that would include the core courses and an internship in a facility that addresses some aspect of public health

Drake University

Drake University proposes to send an interdisciplinary team of five faculty and one community public health practitioner to the AAC&U 2008 Public Health and Liberal Education workshop. The workshop will offer an opportunity for Drake’s team to engage in curriculum and program planning for the purpose of developing a new interdisciplinary concentration (equivalent to an 18 credit minor) in global public health. The Drake team is representative of a larger group of faculty and administers that began planning meetings in the fall of 2007 under the auspices of the Drake University Center for Global Citizenship. This planning group includes faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the College of Business and Public Administration. Our campus efforts have been supplemented by participation in the new Heartland Global Public Health Consortium, which is a collaborative enterprise involving five Central Iowa colleges and universities. We have received strong support from the Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the Associate Provost for Curriculum, Faculty Development and Assessment. This project is part of a broader campus-wide effort to internationalize Drake’s curriculum in keeping with the university’s mission to prepare students for “responsible global citizenship.” Following the AAC&U workshop in July, the global public health planning group will meet during the summer to prepare a detailed proposal for a new global public health concentration to be brought before the Faculty Senate for consideration.

East Carolina University

In response to the current and projected future demands for public health professionals in the public and private sectors, The Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University (ECU) is currently in the process of developing a proposal for a BS degree and minor in Public Health (BSPH) to accompany its Bachelor of Science Program in Health Education and Promotion.  A major goal of the proposed BSPH degree program is the development of a new cadre of public health professionals with a population focus.  This undergraduate program would focus on the core competency areas related to public health, including epidemiology, population disease prevention and control, health disparities, public policy, and global health.  As such, students throughout the university will benefit through exposure to strategies and issues related to public health, as part of their liberal education learning.  As another benefit to be derived from offering the proposed BSPH degree, the department plans to articulate the degree with the Master of Public Health (MPH) program in ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.  In support of this initiative, attending the APTR Undergraduate Curriculum Institute: The Educated Citizen and Public Health will assist our program in providing the fundamental tools to develop undergraduate curriculum in public health.  We anticipate that our participation will help us to develop public health curricula; form collaborations between faculty, practitioners, the local community, and public health educators; and create partnership opportunities between liberal education and learning and public health professional preparation.

University of Florida

    The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, and the College of Public Health and Health Professions (PHHP) Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health propose to develop a 16-credit public health minor. The unique partnership between CLAS and PHHP provides the opportunity to integrate public health education into the general education fabric of the university.   If successful, we anticipate expanding the public health minor such that any college could participate.

    As currently conceptualized, the minor includes 5 3-credit courses and a 1-credit experiential course.  Three courses would be modeled after the core courses developed at last year’s institute:  Public Health 101, Epidemiology 101, and Global Health 101.  In addition to this core, CLAS and PHHP faculty would develop a two-course concentration (“selective”) within the minor.  These courses would incorporate public health content and values and count towards general education requirements.  The ultimate goal would be to develop selectives consistent with the learning objectives of any major.  The coursework would be complemented with the 1-credit service learning component.  The Area Health Education Center would be a major partner in developing experiential learning activities locally and in surrounding communities.

    We hope to benefit from others’ expertise and experience in developing course content and in going through the process of integrating public health knowledge, concepts, and values into general education.  Ultimately, our goal is to help effectively prepare undergraduates who must address 21st century global concerns. 

Hampton University

In July 2007, Hampton University demonstrated its commitment by sending a team, comprised of Dr. Anne Pierce and Dr. Marilyn Wells, to attend the undergraduate curriculum development institute, The Educated Citizen and Public Health. Hampton University’s general education program, required for an undergraduate baccalaureate degree, includes a perspective on healthful living in the world today, preparing all students to function as individual contributors to society and for positions of leadership and service in the global community. 

Hampton University intends to develop a quality undergraduate minor in Public Health to include core courses, electives, and experiential learning opportunities; to integrate public health into pre-professional course; and to offer new Honors Seminars. Specifically, proposed core courses for the Public Health minor include “Public Health 101”, “Global Health 101”, and “Epidemiology 101”, three new courses under development from the summer 2007 institute.  Proposed electives include a range of liberal arts and professional courses, re-designed to focus on issues of public health from an interdisciplinary perspective.  Examples include courses in English (Technical Writing, Scientific Writing), Fine and Performing Arts (Art History), and Science (Introduction to Environmental Science), among many others.  The curriculum proposal for the Public Health minor includes an experiential learning course, Public Health Service Learning, in which students will directly work in a public health setting in the community where they can apply public health intellectual and practical skills, demonstrate individual and social responsibility, and engage in integrative learning.

Haverford College

Haverford College proposes to mount a program of courses that will enable students to graduate with a concentration in global health.  A concentration is characterized by an approved constellation of courses, which has its intellectual “home” in more than one department and which demonstrates an intentional course of study in a coherent subject area.  Faculty participating in this concentration will be drawn from the Natural Sciences (biology, computer science, mathematics), the Social Sciences (economics, sociology, political science, psychology) and the Humanities (philosophy, religion).  We propose that all students enrolled in the concentration will complete a two-semester introductory sequence, a series of electives, an experiential internship and a capstone seminar course.  Haverford’s intellectual community is being energized by the continuing growth of three interdisciplinary centers (in the Sciences, in Peace and Global Citizenship and in the Humanities), as well as by an upcoming expansion in the size of the faculty.  The recent appointment of a President who holds both MD and PhD degrees and a Provost with experience in economics and public policy combine with the reinvigoration of the academic program to create a generative environment in which this proposed concentration can flourish. Involvement of a Haverford team in this summer’s program provides an exceptional opportunity for them to learn more about how public health courses are integrated into the liberal arts curricula at other colleges and universities and to discuss their own ideas while they are still at a fluid phase of development.

Indiana University-Northwest

Indiana University Northwest, a campus of 4500 students in Gary, Indiana, proposes to send a team to the AAC&U/APTR Undergraduate Curriculum Development Institute program in July 2007.  The campus has recently formed a College of Health and Human Services  (CHHS) combining the strengths of the faculty in Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and the Allied Health Sciences to increase enrollment and develop new programs to meet the need for professionals in the rapidly the expanding health care fields. An ad hoc Undergraduate Public Health Task Force group of faculty from COAS, SPEA, and CHHS met to review the literature and decide a plan to have a major interdisciplinary focus on public health as part of the undergraduate curriculum available for all students.  With the blessings of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for this project, the team decided to apply for the Institute in order to facilitate the development of our public health curriculum.  The curriculum would include a minor, a certificate program, advanced courses and a service learning component at area community health centers.

Lehigh University

Lehigh University is in a perfect moment for planning an undergraduate public health curriculum.  The university does not have a school of public health or a medical school, yet the following recent events position us to take the next important step in developing an undergraduate program in Health, Medicine, and Society, for which participation in the AACU Curriculum Development Institute would provide an invaluable contribution:

• During her inaugural address in April 2007, our new President Alice Gast identified health care as one of three major initiatives for the institution.  A faculty working group with members from all four colleges will soon commence to work on research and curricular aspects of the health care initiative;
• Nine faculty members from eight departments in the College of Arts and Sciences have met regularly since Spring 2007 to design a new program in Health, Medicine, and Society;
• The hospital system located near Lehigh (St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network) has embarked on an initiative to greatly increase the collaboration between Lehigh and the hospital in the area of student service learning;
• The two counties that compose the metropolitan region in which Lehigh University is located—the Lehigh Valley—have voted to launch a bi-county regional health department, which will take shape in 2008.

Macalester College

In 2007, three faculty members from Macalester College attended the Phase I “Public Health and Liberal Learning” workshop in Washington, DC.  The “101” workshops, the networks we have built with faculty members at diverse institutions, and the connections forged with the larger undergraduate public health education community have all catalyzed our efforts to fashion an interdisciplinary curriculum of public health studies at Macalester College, one with the core principles of liberal arts learning at its heart.  We have spent the past year working to integrate public health, global health and epidemiology as the three cornerstones of a proposed interdisciplinary concentration in Community and Global Health.  This proposed concentration emerges organically from, and contributes synergistically to, Macalester’s long-standing commitment to internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement.  It embodies our emphasis on inquiry-based learning, communication in written and oral forms, and rigorous critical thinking with attention to multi-disciplinary perspectives and methodologies, and fits seamlessly with our larger goal of educating global citizens. We seek to participate in Phase II: The Educated Citizen and Public Health Institute so that we may take full advantage of the opportunities to develop further our introductory core, to refine new and existing elective courses and capstone experiences, and to continue to foster development of community partnerships to build a robust and vital liberal arts public health curriculum at Macalester College.

University of Massachusetts Amherst

In June 2007, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved a new undergraduate Bachelors of Science (BS) Degree in Public Health Sciences in the School of Public Health & Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  This program commenced in September 2007. Therefore, this fledgling Undergraduate Degree in Public Health Sciences is at a critical point in developing and refining its curriculum.  Integrating a strong liberal arts and public health curriculum, the BS degree in Public Health Sciences is designed to be interdisciplinary, liberal arts oriented, and sufficiently flexible to meet the professional and academic needs of a broad range of students. Specifically, the degree program offers two tracks: Social Science and Science. The strategic plan for the BS includes 5 strategies to integrate liberal arts education and public health: (1) Create additional course offerings with a public health focus. (2) Increase the availability and number of mechanisms that foster integrative experiences on and off campus.  (3) Increase the availability and number of mechanisms that foster research experiences.  (4) Increase the availability and number of mechanisms that foster culminating experiences.  (5) Develop relationships with health and human service organizations in the greater community.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

The vast size of the University of Minnesota (“U”) offers an environment of resources and diversity.  Therefore the “U” is ideal for developing a cohesive program in undergraduate public health education that meets the call made by the Consensus Report, and has the potential for influential impact on the public’s health in Minnesota and beyond.  The “U” has long relied on its accredited, highly ranked School of Public Health for providing elective courses to undergraduates.  With the addition of a planned core “Epidemiology 101” course for 2009 and a potential for revising current courses that may address “Public Health 101” goals, the “U” is leveraging these offerings to become a part of general education to its undergraduate students.  This proposal outlines the current structure of undergraduate public health education at the “U”; specific proposed steps in initiating a cohesive and technologically innovative educational program through the multiple campuses of the “U” and its sister public institution coalition (the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities); and presentation of the experience and goals of the applying faculty.  A central theme is reiterated throughout the proposal, one that emphasizes the capacity of the “U” to successfully carry out the mission of the Consensus Report to provide quality public health education that reaches far into a diverse public.

University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska at Kearney, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The four University of Nebraska (NU) campuses share a commitment to improve public health education and our team’s participation in curriculum development will help realize that goal. Our initial focus is to develop a global health course and create capstone experiences for students. Our objective is an intercampus undergraduate program in public health. This effort includes close collaboration with state health departments, through which our students will learn how to serve diverse populations and understand rural and urban issues. We will achieve LEAP outcomes of integrative learning and complex problem-solving while educating students on personal and social responsibility with a global view of health issues. A major advance for public health education in Nebraska was the recent creation of the College of Public Health (CoPH) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which houses the accredited Master of Public Health program. The CoPH is a joint venture with the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and has close ties to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). The UNO School of Health Physical Education and Recreation offers B.S., M.S., M.A., and M.P.H. in Community Health Education and UNK is in final committee approval for a Public Health minor. Our program plans are consistent with UNL’s Achievement-Centered Education objectives. This coordinated effort will produce well-rounded students who are prepared to engage in public health issues central to the future of their communities and ready to pursue graduate programs in public health and other health care professions.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

            North Carolina A & T State University’s Institute for Public is submitting an application to attend The Educate Citizen and Public Health: an Undergraduate Curriculum Development Institute which is sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) Initiative.

NCAT is known for its strong programs in engineering, technology and business.  A growing student enrollment in areas education, health, arts, and biomedical sciences has resulted in the administration’s development of the University Studies Program, Institute for Public Health and multidisciplinary research clusters originating from the Division of Research and Economic Development. These programs bring together students and faculty for the exploration of teaching and research across the disciplines. 

The Institute for Public Health, which was created in 2005, has as its mission to improve the health of local, national and international communities and populations through the research, teaching and the engagement of students and faculty in communities for addressing issues of health disparities and disease prevention. The Institute for Public Health engages faculty and students in multidisciplinary programming via its educational institutive (courses and certificate programs), its community-based research and programming and its faculty development courses and workshops.

North Carolina State University

Recognizing the importance of developing greater awareness of public health issues among all citizens as well as the growing range of disciplines in which our 24,000 plus undergraduate students are engaging in health related activities, NC State University is committed to developing a thematic track in public and global health.   We propose to address these needs in a step-wise manner by first developing a minor in Public and Global Health. We have identified current courses and service learning experiences that could be part of such a minor, but we seek help in bringing together an appropriate mix of required and elective courses. We also see the need to develop foundational courses such as the three core courses developed in Phase I of the PHE Institute that could be integrated into our proposed General Education Plan.    This newly adopted plan which will be implemented in the summer of 2009 will be the vehicle for a liberal education at NC State.    Participation in the Undergraduate Curriculum Development Institute will allow us to build on the work AAC&U and APTR have already accomplished, and will provide us with an opportunity to dialogue with others who are working through similar curriculum development processes as well as with Public Health professionals since we do not have a school of medicine or public health.

Northwestern University

Northwestern University (NU) has demonstrated commitment to the aims and goals of this Initiative by establishing a Program in Public Health in 1996, 2) establishing courses in global health accessible to undergraduates in 2001, 3) creating a Minor in Global Health in 2004, and 4) creating a faculty working group in 2007 to improve and expand public health education beginning by 2009-10.

Our intent is to build on the core courses in our existing Global Health Minor Program by developing introductory courses in General Public Health and Epidemiology and offering these courses to all undergraduates.  Additional courses given by faculty in all NU schools pertaining to public health will be identified as potential electives for new coherent public health programs.  To broaden our experiential learning opportunities, a pilot program is being established in AY 2008-09 to allow undergraduate students to have “pre-professional public health experiences” in community health/public health organizations in Chicago and Evanston.  The opportunity and challenges of establishing new coherent programs in public health (e.g. a minor in Health Policy and/or a Certificate Program in Public Health) will be discussed by the above mentioned working group, and potential proposals will be made to central administration and the faculty next academic year..

College of Saint Rose

The goal of The College of Saint Rose for participating in the Public Health Summer Institute is to create the framework for an interdisciplinary minor in Public Health.  The minor program will draw on academic resources and expertise from a wide range of Liberal Arts & Sciences programs as well as incorporating a strong service learning component.  The team from Saint Rose will include two faculty members with strong backgrounds in public health, a staff member charged with supporting service learning activities, and an academic dean.  The core curriculum of our minor program is envisioned to include courses in public health/global health, epidemiology, and Bio/Medical Ethics, a service learning component, and a capstone experience.  The details of these components will begin to be fleshed out at the Summer Institute, with further development carried out among the larger College-wide team afterwards.  We feel that The College of Saint Rose is uniquely poised due to its academic and outreach resources, it physical location, and a fortuitous confluence of timing issues (academic cycle, catalog revision cycle, and strategic planning) to make great use of the opportunities offered by the Public Health Summer Institute.  We feel that as participants, our strengths in the areas of ethics, social values and service learning activities will allow us to contribute to the overall success of the Institute.

San Jose State University

San Jose State University intends to introduce the public health perspective, its analytical approach to complex problems, and the related skills for lifelong learning and civic engagement through four new opportunities for SJSU undergraduate students: a 3-unit public health freshman seminar; a 3-unit advanced GE global health course; a 15-unit public health minor; and a 24-unit public health certificate.  In addition, 4 of the related courses will be offered as general university electives.  Our ultimate goal is a vibrant public health presence crosscutting the undergraduate curriculum; infusing liberal education with the urgency, strategies, and collaborative creativity of public health practice, and engaging faculty and undergraduate students in dialogue and action for public health that serves our immediate community and prepares students to be educated citizens, ready for the challenges of their own time.

Texas Christian University

The purpose of this project is to develop undergraduate public health education at Texas Christian University (TCU). The mission of TCU is “to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.” Undergraduate public health education (UPHE) will enable TCU students from multiple disciplines to complete public health studies that will better equip them to participate as educated citizens in a free society. An interdisciplinary team will develop courses for an undergraduate certificate in public health consisting of the three requisite courses:  Public Health 101, Epidemiology 101, and Global Public Health 101. The team will explore the viability of a public health minor by assessing interest, need, and resources for the minor.  A minor would consist of the certificate courses plus 9 additional credit hours.  Additional credit hours will come from new courses developed for the minor as well as courses currently offered at TCU, such as Community Health Nursing, Community Nutrition, and History of Medicine and Public Health. This project will also include a marketing plan for promoting the UPHE program and an evaluation plan for the program.

Truman State University

The proposed Public Health (PH) Minor at Truman Sate University in Kirksville, Missouri is designed to help students identify, analyze, communicate, and influence the myriad forces that contribute to human health and quality of life. Coursework would emphasize a population-level approach to addressing rural health-related challenges. The PH interdisciplinary minor would require the completion of a minimum of 17 credit hours, comprising five required and two elective courses, including a capstone project in HLTH 350, Public Health Practicum II, addressing a community-identified issue. This minor aligns with Truman’s mission to offer an exemplary undergraduate education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. It strongly supports our vision to produce graduates who will be socially responsible leaders and engaged world citizens.  Truman is committed to offering an educational experience that highlights interdisciplinary thinking and multicultural perspectives. Truman has the distinction of being Missouri's only highly selective public university of liberal arts and sciences. This region is an excellent living, learning laboratory for the challenges facing public health in rural America.  The Northeast Missouri (NEMO) population is disproportionately aging, low-income, and medically underserved; furthermore, access to mass transportation and major highway systems is lacking.  The investigation and implementation of local solutions to these quality of life issues may be applicable to other similarly affected areas in the US. This PH minor would be an excellent vehicle to foster opportunities for exploration and engagement in addressing NEMO community needs; such experiences are inherently interdisciplinary, intellectually complex, and morally compelling.

Washington University

Beginning in Fall, 2008, Washington University in St. Louis plans to offer a Minor in Public Health for undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences.  This is a major step in undergraduate curriculum development, and reflects a strong commitment by the university to provide academic instruction in public health research and practice for a new generation of health professionals.  Grounded in the core principles of liberal arts education, the new Minor in Public Health at Washington University will engage students to consider the ways in which individual health is maintained and enhanced through community-level interventions and activities, and will emphasize the interconnectedness of health and wellness at local, regional, national, and global levels. 

The Washington University Minor in Public health will squarely place undergraduate public health instruction within a broader framework of liberal arts education at our institution.  The undergraduate program in Arts and Sciences at Washington University challenges students to think, learn, and grow creatively through formal academic training in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  We are now applying to participate in the 2008 Undergraduate Curriculum Development Institute to strengthen our curricular offerings in public health and enhance the quality of our undergraduate program.  Through interaction with other educators who are moving forward with this ground-breaking project, we believe we can enhance the quality of our undergraduate curriculum, create new levels of global health awareness among students, and better prepare the next generation of public health professionals and practitioners.

University of Washington Bothell Campus

            The University of Washington (UW) Bothell, one of three campuses of the University of Washington with no connection to the UW Seattle School of Public Health, is proposing to develop a minor in public health consisting of five 5-credit courses:  Introduction to Public Health, Introduction to Global Health (each with a service learning option), Introduction to Epidemiology, a community engagement course, and one elective course.  We anticipate great interest in these 300 and 400 level courses from students in UW Bothell’s Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Computer and Software Systems, Nursing, and Education programs.

            The Nursing Program would take the lead in developing this minor, as all nursing faculty have specialties in community health; however, faculty from other UW Bothell programs would also participate.  Currently the Nursing Program offers a Bachelor’s completion program for registered nurses (at 2 sites, 50 miles apart), a generic Master of Nursing program, and is pursuing the development of a BA in Health.  The proposed public health minor would align well with the health major and complement the interdisciplinary nature of our campus.  Nursing faculty have successfully offered modules and courses on global health, public health, and other health issues to many nursing and non-nursing students, further evidence of UW Bothell’s interdisciplinarity.

Winston-Salem State University

The School of Health Sciences (SOHS) at Winston Salem State University (WSSU) proposes a minor in Global Health Studies.  The Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management (BSHCM) logically segues into the minor. The BSHCM program is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the human condition through such courses as, Epidemiology, Global Understanding, and Community and Rural Health.  These and other courses will be available for the minor in Global Health Studies.  Moreover, WSSU is grounded in a strong liberal arts program that appropriately includes community service and required courses in the African American experience, English composition, science, mathematics, and the humanities.  The minor will build on the core, by applying educational objectives to strengthen written and oral communication skills, self-assessment skills, integration of research and global health studies principles, and active learning and problem solving through experiential opportunities.

The most innovative component of the program is the Global Understanding course which is designed to introduce WSSU students to students from other countries in order to exchange experiences primarily through respectful discussions in a virtual classroom setting; through “chat room” activities; through reflective writing; and through reading supplemental historical literature and current print media.  The course intends to help students integrate knowledge in “real time” from social, economic, and political perspectives to grasp the impact of these on campus and family life.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is pleased to offer this application to participate in Phase Two of “The Educated Citizen and Public Health” initiative.   The university is committed to developing an undergraduate minor in Public Health that will include a set of new “core” courses (Introduction to Public Health, Basics of Epidemiology, and Global Health Issues), a capstone service learning/internship requirement, and electives drawn from existing public health-related courses in the Colleges of Letters and Sciences and other units across campus.   This new Public Health program will serve to enhance liberal education at UW-W by bringing our General Education course offerings into closer alignment with the LEAP vision of engaging students in the “big questions” and developing their capacities for civic engagement, social responsibility, and integrative and applied learning.   The addition of a liberal arts-based, interdisciplinary Public Health minor will complement existing health-related programs and provide new options for students interested in health careers.

Yeshiva University

The Yeshiva University Institute for Public Health Sciences (IPHS) was recently established as a trans-University home for public health teaching and scholarship.  Co-directed by our School of Psychology and School of Medicine, it includes the active participation of all components of our University, including our undergraduate men’s and women’s colleges.  While the initial focus of the IPHS was the creation of a new MPH program, we have also begun to explore opportunities for undergraduate education in public health.  The first of these initiatives – a two-week didactic course in global public health in New York, followed by a two-week supervised field experience in India – will be unveiled this summer.  We are committed to the development of a coherent and comprehensive undergraduate program in public health, and would like to learn from the experts and our colleagues about how to effectively develop and implement such a program through this undergraduate curriculum development institute.