Bloomberg School of Public Health
Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 14, 2005 | 3:00 p.m. | 899th Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Robert Black, John Groopman, Martha Hill, Edward Miller, and E. William Spannhake.

Guests: Dr. Sharon Krag; Professor Stephen Teret; and Mss. Thea Glidden and Diane Glover.

Meeting Convened: Provost Steven Knapp convened the meeting at 3 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 898th Advisory Board meeting of June 30, 2005 were approved.

Remarks by the Provost

Provost Knapp commented on the number of changes in the School and Advisory Board. He introduced the inaugural chair of the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Dr. David Holtgrave and the Advisory Board joined Dr. Knapp in welcoming Dr. Holtgrave. Dr. Knapp reported that Dean- designate Michael Klag was to have attended the Advisory Board meeting but due to a sudden family illness he would not be able to attend. The meeting is Dr. Steinwachs last as chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Knapp thanked Dr. Steinwachs for his distinguished service as chair and went on to acknowledge Dr. Weiner's last meeting as past-president of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Ellen MacKenzie has been appointed chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management and will join the Advisory Board in September 2005. Dr. Knapp also noted the death of Frederick Wehr, husband of Sylvia Eggleston Wehr, associate dean for external affairs. Finally, Dr. Knapp remarked on the remarkable tenure of Dean Sommer at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, which was seconded by the Advisory Board

Remarks by the Dean

Dean Sommer noted that Dr. Steinwachs will become the institutional official of the School's Human Research Protection Program and will continue directing the Health Services Research and Development Center in the Department of Health Policy and Management.

Report of the Faculty Senate

Dr. Diener-West reported that, after substantial discussion, the Faculty Senate has elected not to conduct a large school-wide survey on faculty quality of work life. Rather, the Senate plans to conduct smaller more focused surveys that are targeted to specific topics. For example, the Faculty Senate has agreed to sponsor two school-wide open faculty meetings with Professor Teret, chair of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions and other members of the A & P Committee. The Senate plans to survey the faculty regarding issues dealing with appointments and promotions so as to inform those meetings. Other topics will be identified to coincide with events or actions. Although quality of work life is an important topic, the Faculty Senate opined that each department may choose to assess it in different ways. Dr. Diener-West then thanked Dr. Weiner for his able service as president-elect, president and past-president of the Senate.

Dr. Weiner announced that elections were being held for 2005-2006 senators and the position of Senate president- elect. He also commented that he and Drs. Diener-West and Spannhake recently had met with Dean-designate Klag who has indicated continuing support of increased communication between the Dean's office and the Senate.

Other Business

Department of Population and Family Health Sciences (PFHS) Strategic Plan and request for nine professorial positions
Dr. Blum reviewed the strategic plan of the Department of PFHS, which was developed over the course of the past year. He reviewed the Department's mission statement and the core areas in which the faculty work. He noted the Department presently has over 120 students, including MPH students who have affiliated with the Department. A number of centers are associated with the Department, some of which are within the Department and others in which the Department is a participant. Dr. Blum then reviewed the directions and priorities for the fields represented in PFHS as well as how the Department plans to meet these priorities. Dr. Blum reported that the Department has instituted an "Annual Research Day" that has been well-received and has developed a "relative value scale" based on faculty responsibilities, where salary support is assigned for specific functions and levels of competence, although quality can be difficult to assess. Currently the Department is organizing itself to better facilitate the student experience, and is reviewing and revising its educational programs and curriculum.

Dr. Blum then reviewed the current faculty composition in PFHS. He noted that a number of professorial faculty are or will soon be leaving from both the junior and senior ranks. He noted the dearth of demography faculty in the Department and nationwide. The Department is now searching for a director of the Hopkins Population Center, a search that is proving to be challenging. He then reviewed the need for faculty in each of the 5 areas of the Department's focus. The Advisory Board then discussed the apparent nationwide decline in the numbers of academic demographers, many of whom have moved into other fields that have demographic applications. The Department will also increase academic ties to the Center for Communication Programs in that some CCP staff will become full-time faculty in PFHS, and collaboration with faculty in other departments interested in health communication will be enhanced through development of shared core courses. After further discussion, Dr. Knapp thanked Dr. Blum for his comprehensive review of the Department's plans.

Request for authorization for the Dean or his designee to act on the Board's behalf in consultation with those Board members available during the summer months
A motion was made, seconded, and approved.

Initial results from the Open CourseWare (OCW) Intiative
Ms. Glidden joined the Advisory Board meeting. Dr. Yager updated the Advisory Board on the status of OCW activities initiated 18 months ago. A pilot program funded by the Hewlett Foundation will end in Spetember; it's goal has been to mount approximately 10 OCW courses. The biggest hurdle is ensuring that content is free of copyright infringement. Dr. Yager noted that the interface between the School's existing web supplement system and the OCW template must be improved so that course updates can be done from one location. The goal is to move 70 courses and course modules to the OCW site over the next 3 years, a project that will be additionally funded by the Hewlett Foundation.

Ms. Glidden then reviewed the impressive usage statistics of the School's OCW site by type and length of usage, and noted the courses most frequently accessed. She commented that the site has been extremely well-received by external audience as well as within Hopkins. Since many OCW contacts have been from persons identifying themselves as prospective students, she recommended that we specifically tap into these potential students from the OCW site. Several members of the Advisory Board urged the School to be aggressive in using OCW to promote the School's programs. Dr. Weiner remarked that the Faculty Senate will continue to remain involved in the OCW initiative and suggested that the Senate be proactive by asking faculty to volunteer their courses for OCW. He noted that the School receives a great deal of global visibility for its OCW involvement and commented that several areas related to the protection of intellectual property of educational materials still need study. Dr. Knapp thanked Dr. Yager and Ms. Glidden for the positive report of OCW activity.

Other items

Dr. Knapp referred to an informal discussion at the June Advisory Board meeting regarding the School's practice of having two separate readings of each recommendation for appointment or promotion to full professor. The Advisory Board discussed the advantages of reviewing materials for each professorial promotion twice and then determined that while materials would be made available at both meetings, the recommendation will be presented in detail only at the first meeting unless significant concerns are raised for discussion at the second meeting. The Department chair and faculty will recuse themselves at the completion of the first reading such that a confidential discussion can ensue. This will again occur at the final presentation only if indicated by comments at the initial reading or subsequently. The impact of this change in procedure will be evaluated after a year of experience.

Dr. Sommer then presented Dr. Steinwachs with a chair in recognition of his tenure as chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Knapp and the Advisory Board then congratulated Dr. Sommer on his deanship and wished him well as he takes on a non-administrative role in the School.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Robin Fox

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Last updated 07Nov05 by dgips@jhu.edu