Established in July 1984 with an initial enrollment of 100 students, the College is fully accredited by the Council on Edu­cation for Public Health (CEPH) and has graduated over 2,000 students. Current enrollment includes nearly 600 Master's and doctoral full and part-time students. Constructed in 1991, the College building houses an auditorium, classrooms, a distance education studio, computer classrooms, and 17 laboratories. More than 91 faculty provide education, research and service impacting local, state, national and global public health.

The field of public health is broad and draws its strength, as well as its students, from diverse academic disciplines including, but not limited to: health care, natural sciences, business, education, engineering, law and social services. The curriculum features cooperative learning, research, problem-solving, and field experience so that faculty and students together contribute to pursuits essential to the health of human society. Alternate delivery of degrees and certificates by web, executive format, weekend, and alter­nate calendar options greatly expand student opportunity.

College Resources

• The College has two primary computer labs designed to serve as both classroom and individual work stations. The first is a teaching classroom (Lab B) with 46 stations plus 1 instructor’s station. These are Pentium IIII (3GHz) Dell personal computers. It is used for organized classes as well as special seminars and has proven to be a valuable resource for those interested in developing questionnaires, data collection, data entry, and statistical analysis. The second laboratory (Lab A) has 33 Pentium IIII (2.4GHz) Dell computers and is an open-use lab for COPH students.
• Within the primary College of Public Health building there are 17 Research Labs that support research in environmental health, industrial hygiene, physiology, water and air quality, immunology, toxicology, parasitology, risk management, ergonomics, heat stress, occupational safety, electron microscopy infectious diseases and microbiology. The William “Doc” Myers Tampa Branch Laboratory, home to the Florida Department of Health and the College of Public Health’s Center for Biological Defense, is physically located on the USF campus and offers a unique public-public partnership between the academic and applied aspects of disease surveillance, detection, and prevention. Finally, the College has moved into the new Interdisciplinary Research Building (IDRB), located in the USF Research Park. In the IDRB, the College has faculty and student researchers working in three modern BSL-2 laboratories as well as three BSL-3 laboratories to support work in emerging infectious disease, and has begun plans to build out an additional 4,000 square feet of laboratory space in the building.
• Since 1994 the College of Public Health’s Office of Educational Technology and Assessment (ETA) has been a means to provide access to graduate public health education via online learning. The College offers web based courses, in addition to the Online MPH In Public Health Practice and other online certificate programs. A state of the art distance learning studio complete with satellite and videoconferencing capabilities is used for outreach efforts and continuing education offerings for faculty, staff and students. A multimedia studio facility equipped with cutting-edge technologies allows faculty to record and digitize audio and video content for online class delivery. For more information on ETA, go to http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta
• Continuing Education offers public health conferences, workshops and training on a variety of subjects and offers administrative support for governmental and non-governmental public health agencies that provide conferences. For more information, go to: http://www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/coph.
• Student Associations provide a united voice in curriculum development, policy-making and other important decisions. Social functions, community service events, and scholarly programs are promoted. Student associations include: the Public Health Student Association (PHSA), Infectious Disease Association (IDA), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Global Health Student Association (GHSA), and the International Health Service Collaborative (IHSC).

Mission
Our mission is to promote public health through research, education and service.

Vision

• A College that will be the leading authority in public health education, research, policy and practice in Florida.
• A growing national and international reputation that is the product of our collective efforts.
• A scholarly environment that attracts the best people to freely explore their intellectual interests.
• A passion for learning and scholarship in public health to create healthy communities.
• A superior and diverse learning community seeking excellence.
• A supportive culture that fosters personal and professional development.
• An environment that values interdisciplinary collaboration within the College and across USF Health, the University and the community.
• A school of first choice for those who want to pursue creative public health solutions.
• Accountable to each other for co-creating the College’s destiny.

Goals

Goal 1:  Strong Focused Research Programs that Reward and Encourage Scholarship and Creative Activities.

The College of Public Health intends to be a leading authority in public health education, research, policy and practice in Florida, and in national and international arenas.  The faculty embraces the responsibility for the generation of new knowledge needed to address the public health issues through focused research programs.  The involvement of students at all levels of research and creative activity is deemed essential to the educational process.  The organization of large centers within the College is expected to centralize the critical mass of talent necessary to be competitive for large interdisciplinary projects and international activities.

OBJECTIVES:

• Provide research leadership.
• Increase interdisciplinary research.
• Create a clear set of expectations related to research productivity.
• Formally recognize research.
• Foster collaborative international research.
• Provide research opportunities for students.
• Increase community-based research.
• Expand pre-and post-award infrastructure to assist with grant preparation.   

Goal 2:  Continual Improvement of Academic Programs and Student Centered Learning.

The College will maintain and create high quality and diverse learning opportunities for students that not only allow for the meeting of public health competencies but also opportunities for experiencing academic citizenship.  We will continue to expand our distance learning programs; enhance our website to allow for better communication and involvement of all students; involve students with centers; collaborate with other units of USF Health; use various technologies to achieve our educational goals; and refine our assessment of educational outcomes.  There will be strong emphasis on recruiting outstanding and diverse students through existing and new degree and certificate programs.  Finally, we will continue to aggressively pursue funding opportunities for research-oriented students, so they can be successfully recruited and given the opportunity to learn and engage in stimulating, cutting edge scholarly research.

OBJECTIVES:

• Assure graduates have the necessary skills and knowledge in public health core and concentration areas.
• Recruit a qualified and diverse student body.
• Improve teaching skills.
• Create opportunities for students to experience academic citizenship.
• Expand the use of technology to reach both traditional and non-traditional students.
• Expand the role of the College’s centers in providing quality educational opportunities.
• Improve the skills of the public health workforce.
• Develop interdisciplinary learning opportunities, especially community-based efforts.
• Increase interest in public health by undergraduate students.
• Create a Public Health Practice group to investigate College practice and academic initiatives.

Goal 3:  A College Culture that Supports our Mission, Vision, and Values

The advancement of the mission, vision and values occurs in a nurturing environment that can share governance; improve the work environment and recognize achievement; promote collegiality and emphasize the value of a diverse faculty, staff and student body.

OBJECTIVES:

• Share governance.
• Create an environment where a diverse workforce and student body can thrive.
• Recognize achievements of students, faculty and staff.
• Promote collegiality as a central value.
• Promote community engagement as an integral value.
• Give emphasis to a diverse faculty, staff and student body.

GOAL 4:  A Strong Sustainable Infrastructure

The challenges of evolving public health practice must be driven by research and programmatic resources well beyond the capability of state support.  Acquisition and maintenance of substantive regional, national and international leadership and capacity in public health demand strong, diversified, long-term external funding.  This funding should be built through and upon a viable faculty and student friendly infrastructure that nurtures and augments the development, acquisition, management and deployment of external research and programmatic funds.

OBJECTIVES:

• Increase charitable gifts.
• Increase the number of grants and the amount of funding with special emphasis on full indirect.
• Provide accurate, timely financial reports for decision-making.
• Assure optimal and equitable use of resources.
• Attract and retain a highly qualified and productive faculty.
• Seek additional agreements with external agencies to partner in public health initiatives.

Goal 5:  Active Service and Meaningful Community Engagement

University scholars work with the community to utilize scientific knowledge and professional experiences to achieve practical benefits that can both serve and engage the global community.  We stand committed to ensure that all activities meet the highest ethical standards.  In addition, the College’s reputation and effectiveness in improving public health is dependent on the involvement of its students and staff as partners in service activity efforts.

OBJECTIVES:

• Encourage faculty, students and staff to actively engage in service leadership.
• Enhance our national image through service to professional societies and associations.
• Increase continuing professional education activities to meet public health workforce needs.
• Increase student involvement with the community.
• Cultivate community access and participation in College activities.
• Increase or expand participation with USF sponsored community collaborations.
• Increase involvement of College Advisory Committee.
• Re-evaluate the role of the Florida Health Information Center.

Values

• Commitment to Public Health - In supporting our fundamental commitment to the principles of public health we value:
• A population, culturally diverse approach to solving public health problems
• The efficacy of prevention and health promotion
• An ecological, systematic approach to public health
• Development and participation in community partnerships
• Service to underserved and vulnerable populations
• The best quality and equity in all public health services
• Discovery - In upholding our commitment to discovery we pledge to:
• Be innovative in addressing public health problems
• Use the highest ethical standards
• Assure our discoveries are appropriately and widely disseminated
• Appreciate the scholarly activities and contributions of others
• Expect excellence
• Collaboration - In participating in collaborative efforts we are:
• Supportive of each other’s pursuits and disciplines
• Sincere in our efforts and communication to develop partnerships
• Willing to engage in positive collaborations to promote healthy communities
• Collegiality - In promoting collegiality we strive to:
• Assume personal responsibility for our relationships
• Foster ethical and respectful relationships
• Support effective relationships among the wide variety of public health disciplines and settings
• Life long learning - Recognizing that life long learning is essential, we are committed to:
• Foster an environment that encourages a continuous pursuit of knowledge and skills
• Constantly improving educational methods and outreach to students and the public health workforce
• Assure skills and knowledge learned are relevant to public health

Accreditation

The University of South Florida is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; Telephone number 404-679-4501) to award degrees at the baccalaureate, master, specialist and doctoral levels, including the Doctor of Medicine.

The College of Public Health is fully accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH). CEPH (800 Eye Street, NW, Suite 202, Washington, D.C. 20001-3710) is an independent agency that is recognized by the US Department of Education to accredit schools of public health. The College received notice dated June 7, 2004, that it has been reaccredited for seven years, through July 1, 2011; this is the maximum possible number of years attainable in a reaccredidation cycle.

The MSPH in Industrial Hygiene is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012. Telephone 410-347-7700.

Research
Through research and study, faculty and their students seek solutions to complex health problems that result in positive impact on the health of the community (local, state, national, and global).

Support for research comes from public agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Health Resources Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from private agencies, foundations and business, and from governmental partners such as the Florida Department of Health. Local affiliations include county public health departments, hospitals, HMOs and community based clinics.

For more information on the multi-faceted research aspects of the College, go to:

• Office of Research: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/officeresearch/   
• Centers and Institutes: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/researchcenters.html

Faculty Research Interests Links

Faculty research interests can be found at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/facultyaffairs/facultyprofile.html

Department Overview and Links