Global Outreach is Focus of New SPH Team

More and more these days, public health means packing your bags.

The school has launched a new initiative to support the increasingly global scope of SPH research, education, and outreach. The Global Outreach, or "GO" Team, will work with SPH faculty, staff, and students to foster global networks.

The GO Team will partner with faculty on developing online and on-site courses for students in other countries. And it will serve as a resource for international students here and abroad and for the faculty who teach and mentor those students. The team, made up of SPH staff members, is collaborating with the School of Nursing and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

"We hope to create a community of global learners," says SPH education specialist Sharon Vegoe, who leads the team. "The key to this process is partnerships."

Some of those partnerships are happening in India, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Planning is underway for a weeklong public health institute to take place at the University of Iceland in 2008.

The team is also recruiting international faculty to teach at the SPH's Public Health Institute, which annually draws hundreds of students to the Twin Cities. Also in development: a Web-based seminar on international leadership.

"Public health is global health," says Debra Olson, SPH associate dean for public health practice education. "Fostering global partnerships is integral to the school's mission and to addressing our most pressing public health challenges."