Bloomberg School of Public Health
Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | 3 p.m. | 922nd Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Steven Knapp, Robert Blum, Martha Hill, Michael Klag, Thomas Louis, and Edward Miller.

Guests: Dr. Janet DiPietro; Professor Stephen Teret; Mss. Diane Glover, Cassie Klein and Alexandra McKeown.

Meeting convened: Senior Associate Dean James Yager convened the meeting convened at 3 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 921st Advisory Board meeting of June 28, 2007 were approved as submitted.

Remarks by the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Dr. Yager noted that Dean Klag is attending the ASPH annual deans retreat in Puerto Rico. He thanked Dr. Spannhake for three years of conscientious service as president-elect, president and past-president of the Faculty Senate. He welcomed Dr. DiPietro, new associate dean for research, and introduced Ms. McKeown, new associate dean for research administration. Dr. Kristina Johnson has been named provost of Johns Hopkins University effective on September 1. She is presently dean of the School of Engineering at Duke University. Dr. Yager then reminded the Advisory Board about the retreat that will begin on Sunday, July 29 at 3 pm in St. Michael’s.

Report of the Faculty Senate

Dr. Caulfield reported on the July Senate meeting, where the Senate heard from representatives of the Welch library system regarding innovative models to access library services. Departments will also be asked for input on these new models. Changes in the student records and registration system (ISIS) were also presented at the July meeting, including how faculty will be able to electronically manage course information. Dr. Caulfield commented that these changes need to be communicated to faculty, and their impact on the academic programs of the department need to be understood. It was suggested that that one comprehensive website be developed that would provide links to the School resources and websites needed by faculty need during their career in the School. Dr. Yager noted that the portal will soon include links to tools for teaching and research. Dr. Caulfield announced that voting has now begun for the next president-elect of the Faculty Senate. The winner will be announced at the end of August.

Other Business

Department of Biostatistics Self-Study

Dr. Zeger presented a brief history and accomplishments of the Department of Biostatistics. He circulated information on the numbers of faculty and students and the numbers of courses taught, and reviewed the department’s strategy, which has been to define biostatistics very broadly while addressing critical issues in public health and biostatistics. The Department has searched for the best junior faculty, collaborates with faculty across East Baltimore, and hosts a number of informal working groups. The Department is committed to providing 35 percent of core funds to its faculty.

Dr. Zeger highlighted several recent research contributions of the Biostatistics faculty that highlight the Department’s strategy for recruiting talented young faculty, supporting them with sufficient core funding, and creating an environment where PhD student and faculty work together on key public health problems.

Since 2003, four assistant professors have been recruited and the concurrent MHS program for doctoral students in other departments has grown and been improved. The Department now has two endowed professorships.

Among the issues now facing the Department are how best to contribute to meeting the expanding need for expertise in biostatistics across the University. The Department’s Biostatistics Center fills that need to some extent. The Department also has close affiliations with other groups, including Oncology and the Center on Aging. The optimal means for the Department to interact with the CTSA is an active subject of discussion among the East Baltimore schools.

The Department would like to improve coordination between its courses and those offered by the Department of Epidemiology for the core course sequence as well as those offered beyond the first year. Attracting high caliber masters students is also a goal. The joint MHS program in bioinformatics with the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology has not grown as expected; the Department is considering ways to attract top students or to discontinue it in the next few years. Another concern is how to control the growth of the Biostatistics Center so that it continues to benefit the Department while meeting expanding needs for biostatistics service across the University.

Dr. Black commented that the Department of Biostatistics has grown substantially in the area of bioinformatics and genetics and asked about the status of the Department in this area now and the plans for the future. Dr. Zeger commented that the both areas have grown across JHMI and that the Department does not expect to continue growing as much in those areas in the future. The teaching load for faculty is approximately 2-3 courses per year. The Department is considering developing a 2-year master’s degree that would include a paid internship during the second year.

After further discussion, Dr. Yager thanked Dr. Zeger and the Department for its comprehensive self-study. He then announced that Dr. Black has agreed to chair the Review and Search committee for the Department of Biostatistics, and listed the other members of the Committee, which include Drs. Fallin, Frick, Moulton, Powe, Strobino Valle, and Yager.

Proposed revisions to PPM Academic Programs #3, Doctor of Philosophy Degree and #5, Doctor of Science Degree, regarding Conduct of Final Oral Examination

Ms. Klein reported that based on the comments at the most recent Committee of the Whole meeting, the proposed revisions have been modified to clarify that a final oral examination committee can have 4 or 5 members but that the 5th member cannot vote.

The Advisory Board then voted to approve the proposed revisions to the PhD and ScD PPMs regarding the conduct of the final oral examination.

Request for a new faculty position in the Department of International Health

Dr. Black briefly reviewed the Department’s request for a new assistant professor in Nutrition in the area of nutritional assessment. The position is needed in part due to the recent departure of a faculty member.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

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Last updated 05Aug08 by dgips@jhu.edu