SPH News June 8, 2009
SPH News is a school-wide electronic newsletter distributed to SPH faculty and staff every other week during the school year. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu.
From the Dean
Now that the Minnesota Legislature has adjourned, the budget picture for the University and the School of Public Health is slightly less murky. To recap, Gov. Pawlenty rejected the legislature’s proposal combining spending cuts, government payment delays and tax and fee increases to balance the state’s budget. Because he has long opposed tax increases, he will instead use his powers of “unallotment” to balance the budget by imposing his own cuts and delayed payments. The bottom line for the University is about $178 million less in state investment over the next biennium, a cut of about 13 percent to of state funding overall. How this will shake out in the next two years and beyond is the question. Will the University simply cut every unit proportionately and “shrink” overall? Or will it choose to make cuts and investments based on strategic priorities? One thing is clear: there will be much less state money for the University and that includes the School of Public Health. For the first time in the University’s 158-year history, tuition is now a greater source of revenue overall than state investment. This is truly a profound change.
The SPH will need to be increasingly creative when it comes to our own bottom line, yet remain true to our mission. Certainly sponsored research and tuition will continue to anchor our budget. We will need to continue aggressively building the impact of our research programs through traditional funding sources, but also seek new ones that will rely on our ability to collaborate across disciplines. We will need to continue to provide a superior education program, and market it vigorously. And we will need to bolster our advancement efforts to tell our story and build our reputation to attract additional philanthropic dollars. Our philanthropic dollars have traditionally been “icing on the cake” in terms of the school’s budget. Moving forward, private philanthropy will become more of a key ingredient in our overall budget. That is why alumni engagement, working with the news media, and developing a strategy to work with corporations and foundations, will take on heightened importance in this new world.
Our bottom line? A majority share of our destiny is in our own hands. Despite the tough times, the SPH traditions of teamwork, mutual support and high standards of excellence will continue to drive the achievement of our missions of research, education, and service.
—John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
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Media News
May media coverage featured the following SPH faculty and staff:
- Kristin Anderson
- Darin Erickson
- John Finnegan
- Simone French
- Jean Forster
- Craig Hedberg
- David Jacobs
- Yuan Jian-Min
- Melissa Kemperman
- Leslie Lytle
- Jeff McCullough
- Michael Osterholm
- Mark Pereira
- Deborah Swackhamer
- Traci Toomey
- Rachel Widome
Coverage was featured in local media as well as in the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Canadian Press, Bloomberg News, Newsday, Singapore’s Strait Times, Business Week, Toledo Blade, and National Public Radio. Visit SPH in the News to read more about SPH faculty in the news.
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School News
SPH commencement photos are online. Thank you to the graduates, faculty, staff, and volunteers who helped make SPH commencement a success. To view photos from this event, please go to the SPH website. To download photos, click the Flickr symbol. You will be brought to the Flickr homepage. Click on the photo you wish to download. Then, click the magnifying glass symbol and choose the size of photo you wish you download. Click on the download link and save the photo.
There will be no EpiCH Shuttle service during the summer. The last day of service will be Friday, June 12. Service resumes Tuesday, Sept. 8. The mail runs to ECRC, Mayo, and HSRC will continue at their regular times.
The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program was recently recognized by the University’s Communicators Forum for a video produced in 2008 that highlights the organization’s intern program. MnTAP, a business assistance program in the SPH, created the video Engineering a Better World to draw both student and company attention to the intern program.
The Minnesota Public Health Association Reception and Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 18. The keynote speaker is Cheryl Easley, American Public Health Association president, who will discuss “Public Health Leadership in Challenging Times.” There will be a panel discussion after Easley’s talk. The reception will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m., a dinner buffet, from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and the meeting will go from 7 to 8 p.m. All events will take place at the Neighborhood House at Wellstone Center, 179 Robie Street, St. Paul. For questions, e-mail info@mpha.net. Registration is $15.
• More information and online registration
U of M Simulations and Exercises for Educational Effectiveness (U-SEEE) is accepting applications now through June 18 for the U-SEEE fellows program for the period July 2009-June 2010. The program is an opportunity for University of Minnesota graduate students in public health, other health-related fields, or education to gain specialized training in the intersection of public health preparedness systems research and education. Awards are $20,000 per year for up to two years.
• Additional information
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SPH Events
A farewell party for Ian Greaves will be held Thursday, June 11, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in A301 Mayo. All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend to bid a fond farewell and thank Greaves for 20 years of service to the Division of Environmental Health Sciences. For questions contact Karen Brademeyer at 6-0090.
Greet old friends and new at the annual Epi Alumni and Friends Reunion. In conjunction with the Society for Epidemiologic Research Annual Meeting, the reunion takes place on Thursday, June 25, 7 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, Salon 7, 11999 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, Calif. Sumptuous appetizers and beverages will be served. The gathering is made possible by both the School of Public Health Alumni Society and Dean’s Office.
The Division of Health Policy and Management invites its alumni, current students, and faculty to the annual HPM Reunion Reception on Monday, June 29, 7:30-9:30 p.m. If you are attending the Academy Health Annual Meeting in Chicago, please stop by and enjoy some tasty refreshments as you re-connect with former and current colleagues in HPM. The reception will be held at Mercat a la Planxa (Spanish cuisine), 638 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. This year’s gathering is made possible by both the School of Public Health Alumni Society and Dean’s Office.
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Student News
Michel Boudreaux is working for the State Health Access Data Assistance Center as an on-site research assistant at the U.S. Census Bureau this summer. Boudreaux will work on data for the American Community Survey as the bureau prepares to release the first year of data that measures health insurance coverage. This project is led by SPH faculty member Michael Davern.
Mary Hearst was selected by The University of Minnesota’s Children, Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC) as one of four CYFC Scholars. Scholars receive CYFC technical support and a $25,000 stipend each year for four years to support a major research project. Hearst’s research will focus on social determinants of health and education in early childhood, in particular how health in early childhood and school readiness alters life trajectories.
Delta Omega (Pi Chapter) Premier Poster Award winners John Li and Tran Huynh, (awarded at SPH's Student Research Day) have been invited to participate in the 2009 Delta Omega poster session at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Nationally, nearly 50 abstracts were received and 19 were selected.
Tran Huynh has been selected by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHF) as the 2009-2010 recipient of the TSI/Arthur J. Abrams Memorial Scholarship. She will be recognized at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition to be held in Toronto, Canada.
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CPHEO News
H1N1 Resources. The recent outbreak of H1N1 Influenza prompted the University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness to develop and distribute a list of free resources most pertinent to influenza outbreak and response. This information can be found under the ‘Influenza Resources’ side panel.
• Access resources online
“Dirty Bomb! After the Blast” is a 3D simulation that puts learners in the decision-making role to navigate through three missions working as a public health responder after a dirty bomb explosion. The comprehensive simulation is designed for all types of public health professionals who may be called to respond during a large-scale disaster.
• Click to access the simulation
“Introduction to Business Continuity Planning for Disasters and Emergencies” and “Preparing Employees for Disaster in the Workplace” are two online learning modules that focus on preparing businesses and other organizations for emergencies and disasters.
• Access the modules online
8-Hour Emergency Response Refresher
Thursday, June 11
• Additional Information
NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher
Wednesday, June 24
• Additional Information
2009 National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course
July 29-31
• Additional Information
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Other Events
June 28-July 1
2009 Public Health Systems Research Interest Group Meeting
For more events, go to the SPH Online Calendar
Subscribe to SPH calendar updates by e-mail
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Events on the AHC Web Site
Events on the SPH Web Site
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Last modified on Sunday Jun 07, 2009