Accreditation Visit Completed

By John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
April 23, 2007

Last week we completed the SPH accreditation visit with the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). This event occurs once every seven years and requires about a year to prepare a self-study for the visit team. Almost every aspect of the School is examined. The review team met with many faculty, staff, students, alums, and community partners and stakeholders over a three-day period. These personal interviews make the self-study come alive for them and provide a more complete picture of the School than print and multimedia alone permit. At the exit interview, the committee reviewed with us the general recommendations it will make to the CEPH council in August. The "unofficial" review suggests that we are doing very well as an accredited SPH. When the review is official, we will make the formal report available.

My deep thanks go to everyone in the SPH who helped with this important process. I especially want to thank Associate Dean Debra Olson for organizing the effort. Many staff assisted her, and we will be acknowledging their contribution, too.

Our successful week was tempered by the tragic news out of Blacksburg, Virginia, and our own tragedy close to home. As I wrote to you in an e-mail over the weekend, Public Health Nutrition major Melissa Speich died Friday of injuries sustained in an auto accident Easter Sunday when she was hit by a drunk driver. Her loss is felt deeply by the SPH community. Please keep her family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.