Bloomberg School of Public Health
Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 30, 2006 | 3 p.m. | 914th Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Steven Knapp, Robert Black, Robert Blum, Diane Griffin, Martha Hill, David Holtgrave, and Jonathan Samet,

Guests: Drs. Bernard Guyer, Sharon Krag and Donna Strobino; Professor Stephen Teret; Mr. Herbert Hansen; and Ms. Diane Glover.

Meeting Convened: The meeting convened at 3 pm.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 913th Advisory Board meeting of October 26, 2006 were approved.

Remarks by the Deans

Dean Klag reported on a fire in the School of November 29, where one laboratory was damaged, mostly from water. There were no injuries. Dr. Brody has asked the School to enter into discussions with the National University of Singapore (NUS) regarding joining a consortium of Asian universities. NUS is particularly interested in public health. The consortium is hosting a symposium on pandemic influenza in China and the School has been asked to send a representative. Deans Klag and Miller commented on the history of collaboration with NUS by several divisions of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Klag noted he will visit the United Arab Emirates in January; Dr. Miller commented on the excellent health care facilities there.

The Board of trustees meeting will focus on the University fund-raising campaign. The School's goals and priorities in the campaign were noted.

Dr. Miller then commented on a variety of building activities in East Baltimore undertaken by Johns Hopkins Medicine. A substantial proportion of the JHU campaign is for support of Johns Hopkins Medicine initiatives. He noted that the Department of Defense has indicated interest in broadening the scope its present funding of Johns Hopkins Medicine activities.

Dr. Klag remarked that he has asked Dr. Zeger to head a task force on Informatics that will develop a plan to guide the School's future activities. Dr. Zeger reported that the task force plans to look at informatics broadly as it pertains to the entire East Baltimore campus although its main focus will remain the School of Public Health. A survey of informatics activities will be conducted and a number of symposia will be organized over the next several months.

Report of the Faculty Senate

Dr. Louis reported on the topics that will be on the agenda of the joint Faculty Senate/Committee of the Whole meeting in early December.

Other Business

Part-time DrPH in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health

Drs. Strobino and Guyer joined the Advisory Board. Dr. Guyer commented that the most recent revision of the DrPH program created a framework for departments to develop new, explicitly part-time DrPH programs. Presently, the only explicitly part-time DrPH is offered by the Department of Health Policy and Management, in Management and Leadership. Dr. Strobino commented that the proposed program is designed for working public health professionals. The part-time and full-time programs in PFRH have the same requirements; the only two differences are that the part-time program does not contain a full-time residency requirement and the allowable time to successfully complete the preliminary and final oral examinations have been lengthened. She reviewed a sample schedule, noting that students must be continuously enrolled and meet all requirements outlined in the student handbook. There is no requirement for the student's employer to partner in the oversight of the student for academic projects in the workplace; this requirement was also eliminated from the part-time DrPH program in Health Finance and Management. Dr. Brookmeyer asked how incoming students could meet the MPH core requirements for the proposed program; the program requires that students hold an MPH or equivalent degree. However, there was interest in joint recruitment of students to an MPH linked to a part-time DrPH. After further discussion, the program was approved by the Advisory Board and will be forwarded to the Provost's office. Dr. Guyer noted that the DrPH Executive Committee is now developing a proposal for an executive DrPH program that would also meet the needs of working health professionals. It is anticipated that courses would be offered in compressed weekend format.

Request from the Department of Mental Health for three new faculty positions

Dr. Eaton reviewed the Department's request to recruit junior faculty in three areas: biological/physiologic changes associated with mental disorders; mental health services research; and international mental health. The Department will collaborate with other departments to recruit the faculty. The Advisory Board was supportive of Dr. Eaton's request.

Other Items

Dr. Klag announced that Dr. Strobino has agreed to head the School's strategic planning process that will begin early in 2007. The strategic plan is expected to focus on education.

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

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

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