The School of Public Health is one of the distinctive strengths of the University of Minnesota, and it is unique in Minnesota and the region as the only school of public health. The School is among the highest ranked schools of its kind nationally – a leader among its peers in public health research, education and engagement in service to local, regional and global communities. Its faculty and alumni are among the most esteemed and productive in their fields. Partnerships that bring together the public health disciplines, professions and communities yield excellent opportunities for the School to collaborate broadly in order to improve public health and, in turn, inform the academy.
Since its last accreditation in 1999, the School of Public Health has undergone significant transformation. Today, its vision – to move discovery to impact for the health of the public – is clear. And its immense research, education and service resources are aligned to support the vision. The School’s transformation is reflected in a variety of factors:
Growth. Student enrollment is now more than 1,000, up from 346 in 1999;
Curriculum reform. Curricula have become increasingly current and relevant:
School faculty, many of whom set the public health agenda through their research, have integrated their discoveries into teachings;
The School has heightened its sensitivity – and improved response to – the needs of the diverse audiences for public health education. The result is timely, topical courses presented in increasingly accessible learning formats and applied to the practice of public health;
The School has embraced and begun to implement competency-based learning outcomes that will be measured through the action of its alumni.
Translating research discovery to public impact. The research program, which continues to grow and remains one of the most productive among schools of public health, focuses increasingly on translating findings for impact throughout the communities it serves.
Extended reach. The reach of the School has been vastly extended through the use of digital technologies, more flexible offerings to meet the needs of working professionals and outcomes-based global partnerships.
Four watchwords – collaboration, inter-professional, global and digital – have been fundamental to the School’s transformation – and will continue to be essential to expanding its impact in the future.
Collaboration: In its 2002 report, “Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century,” the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended increased collaboration among schools of public health and other academic disciplines, health departments and community organizations. Across programs within the School and across colleges within the University, School administrators and faculty have embraced collaboration as a means to improved educational and research outcomes. In fact, collaboration increasingly defines the School’s culture. Today, few, if any, University of Minnesota schools can boast a larger complement of active collaborations. The School’s 30 dual degree programs and participation in the campus-wide interdisciplinary initiatives led by the University President to address critical societal issues are but two examples of the School’s embrace of collaboration. Collaboration also extends to the community, where the School has a growing portfolio of community-based participatory research projects and where its connections with practicing professionals are increasingly robust, a result owing in large measure to the School’s innovative programs for lifelong learning geared for working professionals.
Inter-professional: Few, if any, fields encompass the number and variety of disciplines of public health. But, according to IOM and others, to more effectively confront today’s pressing health issues, public health’s principles, its emphasis on prevention and its perspective on populations need to be integrated into the training of medical and health care professionals. The School’s dual degree programs are a first step in this integration. The next step is an emphasis on inter-professional education in which public health training becomes part and parcel of completing a degree in the health sciences. As the School looks to increase its impact, it is actively engaged in exploring models for inter-professional education, a priority shared with the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, the administrative home of the School and five other health science schools and colleges.
Global: Recognizing that public health is global, faculty have conducted research internationally since the School’s founding in the 1940s. As the world has grown smaller and more interconnected through transportation and communications, the need for public health partnerships across the globe has become more critical. To increase its impact, the School has adopted a more coordinated, collaborative approach to its work globally. For example, the School’s recent memorandum of understanding with India to assist in building a national public health infrastructure and promote faculty and student exchanges promises to set a successful precedent for the School’s outcome-oriented global focus.
Digital: Access to public health education – traditionally conducted in campus settings – has long been a barrier to higher degrees and workforce training. Digital learning technologies, enthusiastically embraced and adopted by the School, have effectively lowered the barrier. With more than 3,000 online course registrations supported since 2002, the School is now a central platform for public health education across the region and, increasingly, the world. Today, some 50 percent of Minnesota public health workers have no formal public health training and most are unable to leave jobs, homes and families for campus programs. Digital delivery provides a channel through which to train these workers – and opens new opportunities for students and communities to play a role in shaping the School’s research and learning activities.
Collaboration, inter-professional, global and digital: All come together in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health: Transforming Discovery to Impact for a Healthier World.
Return to: School of Public Health : Academic Health Center : myU : U of M Home
