The Weekly SPHere August 4, 2008
August 4, 2008
The Weekly SPHere is a weekly electronic publication for students in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. To submit items for the Weekly SPHere, please send an e-mail to sphnews@umn.edu.
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SPHere Spotlight
Kudos goes to the SPH students who work on Team Diarrhea at the Minnesota Department of Health. The students in the M.P.H. program were among the researchers who helped discover that jalapenos were the real culprit in the most recent outbreak of Salmonella - dubbed Salmonella Saintpaul. The students are:
Ryan Gierke, Epi
Julie Hoffer, EnHS
Allie Harford, CHE
Carrie Klumb, EnHS
Ruthie Luna, Epi
Joshua Rounds, Epi
Colin Schwenson, Epi
Jena Trask, Epi
Mac Farnham, VPH Resident
First year students are invited to participate in the SPH Mentor Program. Your commitment to a mentor relationship will require about 1-2 hours/month
of your time from October to May. The benefits can be numerous, including:
* network with public health professionals
* discover career opportunities available in public health
* share ideas about linking academic work to career objectives
* explore the challenges and rewards of working in public health.
If you are seeking a rewarding mentor relationship, complete the online application by Sunday, Sept. 14 at http://www.sph.umn.edu/mentor
Students who need a review of calculus are encouraged to enroll in PubH 3810: Math Review for Public Health. It is a special short course that is offered before the start of fall semester. The one-credit course is offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 18-20. For information about the course, contact the instructor at: pate0052@umn.edu&. Graduate students may request the undergraduate tuition rate for this class by contacting a One Stop counselor in 200 Fraser Hall.
Dean John Finnegan writes about Minnesota's food-borne illness detection system for his From the Dean column.
- Read it online
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Student News
MPH student Lauren Gilchrist has been selected as a Public Health Policy Fellow by the Association of Schools of Public Health. She begins her one-year term in September and will be working in Washington, D.C. on Senator Kennedy's U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions. Gilchrist will be exposed to a variety of educational and professional opportunities including helping develop legislative proposals; arrange hearings; brief legislators for committee sessions and floor debates; and staff House-Senate conferences.
The Center for Spirituality & Healing and the Center for Interprofessional Education will offer "Health Promotions for Self and Others, Part A" in the fall. The course will meet every other Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. beginning Monday, Sept. 8 and ending Monday, Dec. 15. Designed for health professional students, the class will share learning principles and strategies for promoting healthy lifestyle choices, the practice of self-monitoring and reflection, and discuss knowledge across all areas of well-being (physical, emotional and social). This course is designed as the first part (1 credit) of a two-term sequence, continuing with Part B in the following term. Contact Carla Mantel at 4-5166 or cmantel@umn.edu for permission to register.
Students interested in submitting abstracts for The Unite for Sight 6th Annual Global Health and Development Conference, "Achieving Global Goals through Innovation," must do so by Friday, Aug. 15. The conference will be held in April at Yale University. For more information see: http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference
Welcome new students! The SPH Orientation is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 21. A full-day Health Disparities Workshop will be Friday, Aug. 22, and time is set aside on Monday, Aug. 25 to learn more about financial aid, public health careers, and to meet second-year students. All new students are encouraged to attend orientation.
- Learn more/register online
Applications for the Thomas W. and Mary Kay Hoban Scholarship are being accepted through Aug. 15. The scholarship is open to HPM or public health nutrition students and ranges from $1,000 to $3,000.
- Application details
Keep up to date on your fellow students as they complete their field experiences abroad this summer by reading the Notes from the Field blog.
- Go to the blog
- SUBSCRIBE to e-mail feed
Applications are being accepted for the 2008 Student Ambassador Program. Thirty returning SPH students will be selected to represent the school in a variety of recruitment events on and off campus throughout the 2008-09 academic year. The Student Services Office is seeking applicants from all majors, backgrounds, and career interests for the most diverse group possible.
Students will be selected on the following criteria:
- Some knowledge of the SPH programs and application process
- Knowledge of SPH buildings and spaces
- Public speaking skills/experience
- Community engagement in and outside of the SPH
- Academic standing
- A brief essay indicating interest in the Ambassador Program
"I would like to be a SPH Ambassador because..." in one page or less.
- A resume review
- One faculty reference with contact information
Ambassadors are volunteers who will give tours of the school, staff recruitment events, respond to student life inquiries, work with the undergraduate student Public Health Association, travel for the SPH on occasion, and possibly blog or participate in a web-based "My Life" video or other feature. Training will be provided in early September for all volunteers. Compensation is minimal but the benefits include SPH clothing, SPH recycled bag, SPH flash drive, a recognition event in the spring, resume building, and possible travel opportunities. Applications are being accepted immediately and interviews will be held in the first two weeks of fall classes. For more information or to apply for an ambassador volunteer position, please contact Melvin Monette at monet008@umn.edu or 4-0601.
Equivalency exams for SPH core courses have been scheduled for August. The dates and times are listed below. Please contact the appropriate person by Aug. 8 if you are interested in taking the exam.
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School News
The Bio-Medical Library will be installing new computer furniture on the second floor of the library beginning Monday, Aug. 4. During the construction period, Reference Desk services will be provided from room 274, which is right behind the current reference desk. There will not be Reference Desk services available on Saturday, Aug. 9. Students, faculty, and staff will be able to access computers in the lower-level computer area on the second floor during the construction period. Access to the lower-level computer area, room 274 and the group study rooms will be maintained during the project. There will be some noise during the construction project which is expected to be completed by Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Join the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The University of Minnesota Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was formed in 2004 as part of a comprehensive effort to prepare for health emergencies on campus and in the community. MRC members are needed from all disciplines, backgrounds, and skill sets (clinical and non-clinical). If you are not currently registered with the U of M MRC, please consider doing so. Contact MRC Coordinator, Kathy Berlin, at 6-4722 or medicalreserve@umn.edu.
- More information/register online
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SPH Events
Join the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) student interns as they present the results of their summer pollution prevention projects. The program will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 25 in the Ski-U-Mah Room at the McNamara Alumni Center. To RSVP contact MnTAP at 4-1300 or email speck002@umn.edu.
Visit the SPH booth at the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday, Aug. 27. The booth, located in the Crossroads building, will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and features demonstrations on DNA, State Fair food, and other public health topics. Visitors will have an opportunity to express their opinions about public health in an SPH vodcast (video blogging). The video footage from the vodcast will be edited and made available on the SPH website. SPH trinkets will be given away. For questions, contact the Dean's Office at 4-6669 or sphmayo@umn.edu. See you at the fair.
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The Weekly SPHere is sent by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware Street, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Last modified on Monday Jul 07, 2008