December 27, 2005
Contents
From the Dean
Faculty news
Student news
School news
Calendar of events
SPH News is a School-wide electronic
newsletter distributed every other week during the school year. Please
send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu. Whenever possible, please use SPH News
in place of School-wide e-mails.
The submission deadline for the January
9 issue is noon on Friday, January 6.
From the Dean
I am reminded almost daily of the lesson
uttered by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus 2,500 years ago: “Nothing
endures but change.” It certainly applies to my own move from “interim”
to “dean” of the School. More than that, it encapsulates a
year full of big, exciting changes that have affected everyone connected
to the SPH. Here’s a review of just some of the events that
shaped the past year:
• The past year marked the third consecutive
year of record-breaking enrollment for the SPH, with some 300 more students
enrolled in 2005 than in the previous academic year, today about 1,000
students total.
• The Veterinary Public Health program
celebrated 50 years and launched new scholarships to support students
pursuing a combined DVM/MPH degree. The SPH also educated DVM
students from eight other schools of veterinary medicine across the
country.
• The School established six new endowed
scholarships totaling $234,000.
• The annual three-week summer Public
Health Institute offered a record 39 courses to more than 386 students
from 22 U.S. states.
• The School added three new interdisciplinary
concentrations in global health, public health policy, and complementary
and alternative medicine.
• A team of SPH faculty, deans, and
staff traveled to Asia to explore partnerships with colleagues in India
and the Philippines. The visit included a stop in Hong Kong where ISP-Asia
was formally launched with the help of Governor Tim Pawlenty
and University President Bob Bruininks. The ISP program offers
educational programming and credentials in health care management and
administration.
• The School was one of nine units
to launch the University’s Consortium for Bioinformatics and Computational
Biology.
•The School welcomed the return of
the Master’s in Healthcare Administration program faculty, staff,
and students.
• Through a major initiative funded
by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, SPH faculty will have a major
national impact on directions in obesity research during the next five
years. Under the leadership of Mary Story, the initiative
will make available to investigators nationwide some $16 million in
research funding.
• The Obesity Prevention Center launched
under the direction of Bob Jeffery, Mary Story, and
Simone French exceeded $30 million in new grant funding in its first
year.
These changes all mark growth and expansion
for the school, be it in enrollment, educational offerings, research
and scholarship dollars, or global reach. More importantly these changes
show what we have achieved working together as a school. Thanks to all
of you for your excellent work in the past year. Here’s to another
successful year!
--John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Faculty news
John Christianson
was invited to be a panel member for the U.S. News & World Report
National Issues Briefing, “Medical Banking: How is the Marriage of
Health Care and Finance Good for Consumers?” on December 6 in Washington,
D.C. The briefing, presented in association with Blue Cross and Blue
Shield, examines the converging forces in the health care and financial
services sectors.
Pfizer, Inc. is sponsoring Pfizer
Scholars Grants in Public Health. The awards are meant to support
the career development of junior faculty in public health. These educational
grants are nationally competitive, and chosen by an independent Academic
Advisory Board of recognized leaders in public health. The deadline
to apply is January 6. Up to two grants of $130,000 each, paid over
two years, will be awarded to individuals who are pursuing community-based,
public health practice research intended to foster academic science
and knowledge of public health, and collaborative partnerships between
accredited schools or programs of public health and state and local
departments of public health. For more information or to apply go to http://www.promisingminds.com/GrantsProgType.aspx?ProgID=204&ProgAreaID=14&ProgTypeID=2 or call 800-201-1214.
The Award for Outstanding Contributions
to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education deadline
is January 11. Please consider nominating faculty in your division
who meet the eligibility and selection criteria. Visit http://academic.umn.edu/provost/awards/aoce.html for
complete information and nomination forms. Please let Marsha Reinking
(reink001@umn.edu, 6-1428) know if you will be submitting a nomination
packet.
Student News
Please save the date for Pamoja.
On Thursday, February 16 from 6 to 9 p.m., Student Senate will host
the annual Pamoja celebration at the Weisman Art Museum. All students,
faculty, and staff in the School of Public Health are welcome to attend.
"Pamoja" is a Swahili word for togetherness, and the event
is intended to be a gathering of everyone in the SPH to enjoy an evening
of food, beverages, music, and karaoke. Any questions can be directed
to sphss@umn.edu.
School news
The School’s participation in the
University’s Community Fund Drive raised $54,992 for various charitable
organizations. About 36 percent of SPH employees contributed to the
drive. Total funds raised by the University are $1,076,190, with an
average participation rate of 28 percent.
“Challenges and Opportunities in
Future Clinical Research” will be presented by David DeMets,
Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin–Madison,
on Monday, January 9 12-1 p.m. in room 2-520 Moos Tower. Light lunch
served. The presentation is part of the Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Series of the Academic Health Center Office of Clinical Research. For
more information, contact Susan Jackson at sjackson@umn.edu.
Photos from the SPH Winter reception
are available online. Go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/winterreceptionphotos and click on the Shutterfly link.
You are invited to a screening of
Minnesota Confidential, a documentary highlighting the history
and current debate over the Minors’ Consent Act. The screening will
take place at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24 in the Coffman Union
Theater. Reception to follow. The event is sponsored by the Minnesota
Public Health Association, SPH Mentor Program, and SPH Student Senate.
For more information, contact Michelle Lian-Anderson at liana001@umn.edu.
A new Maternal and Child Health MPH
page is now posted to the SPH Web site. The page contains program
information, FAQs, and application information. To access the information,
go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/mchonline.html.
Deborah Prothrow-Stith, associate
dean for faculty development and professor at the Harvard School of
Public Health, will speak at the Humphrey Institute, Wednesday, January
25, 7 p.m. Prothrow-Stith is a nationally recognized leader in using
public health strategies to understand and eliminate youth violence.
Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact
Jean Fountain at jeanfountain@earthlink.net or 952-941-4422.
Holiday
Schedule for the Epi Shuttle – From December 27 to January 16
the Epi Shuttle will operate Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. There
will be no shuttle service January 2 and January 16. Starting January
17, when spring semester begins, the Epi Shuttle will resume the regular
7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last pick up at Mayo turn-around at 5:45) schedule.
Up-to-date guide booklets of SPH faculty
and their expertise are now available in the Dean's Office. Directories
have been sent to faculty, division administrators, and major coordinators.
If you would like additional copies, please contact Marsha Reinking
(reink001@umn.edu, 6-1428) in the Dean's Office. A PDF version
of the booklet is available at http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/publications/facultyexpertisedirectory05.html.
The SPH 2004-2005 Annual Report is
available. If you would like copies, please contact Kris Stouffer
at stouffer@umn.edu or 4-4460. To access a PDF copy of the report,
go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/advances/home.html.
AcademyHealth will host an interactive
audioconference to address the use of accreditation measures and evidence-based
research in developing an effective public health system. The 90-minute
audioconference will bring together leading experts in public health
systems research to discuss “The Guide to Community Preventative Services:
Developing an Evidence Base for Public Health” on Wednesday, January
11, 2 p.m. ET. For more information or to register, please visit http://www.academyhealth.org/phsr/.
Attend the 2006 Legislative Briefing
and Reception on January 25. Hear President Bob Bruininks,
along with students and faculty, explain how the projects in this year’s
Capital Request will benefit the University and the entire state. This
program will teach you how to be an effective advocate for the University
at the Capitol and in your own community. Enjoy a light dinner and meet
others who care about the future of the U. January 25, 5:30-8:00 p.m.,
McNamara Alumni Center. RSVP at www.supporttheu.umn.edu or call 5-9174.
The 2006 Winter Public Health Institute
will take place January 2-7, 2006, in Gainesville, Florida. This offering
of courses, field trips, and special events is organized by the SPH
and the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions.
For complete course descriptions, registration details and scholarship
application call 6-4515 or visit the Institute Web site at www.publichealthplanet.org.
Calendar of events
Date
Time
Event
Location
Contact
Jan 2-7
2006 Winter Public Health Institute
Gainesville, Florida.
www.publichealthplanet.org
Jan. 9
12-1 p.m.
“Challenges and Opportunities in Future
Clinical Research”
2-520 Moos Tower
sjackson@umn.edu
Jan. 10
Mold Identification
www.publichealthplanet.org
Jan. 17-20
OSHA 511: Occupational Safety and Health
Standards for General Industry
www.publichealthplanet.org
Jan. 19
Evacuation Coordination: Train the Trainer
www.publichealthplanet.org
Jan. 24
5:45 p.m.
Screening of Minnesota Confidential,
Coffman Theater
liana001@umn.edu
Jan. 25
5:30-8:00 p.m.
2006 Legislative Briefing and Reception
McNamara
www.supporttheu.umn.edu
Jan. 25
7 p.m.
Deborah Prothrow-Stith
speaks
Humphrey Institute
jeanfountain@earthlink.net
Event listings are available at
the SPH Web site at http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/events/home.html and the AHC site at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/calendar/.
To sign up to receive
SPH News, send your name and e-mail address to SPHNews@umn.edu.
To read past issues of
SPH News, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/sphnewsletter.html.
SPH News is sent by the University
of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware Street, S.E., Minneapolis,
MN 55455. www.sph.umn.edu.