MEMBERS ABSENT: Drs. William Brody, Roger McMacken, W. Henry Mosley, and Barry Zirkin.

GUESTS: Drs. Noel Rose and David Vlahov; Ms. Diane Glover.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 793rd meeting on September 24, 1996 were approved.

Remarks by the Provost:

Dr. Knapp commented that the University will now undertake a search for the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and that the search committee will be expanded to include representation from the School. Dr. Brody will have orientation sessions with all divisions.

Dr. Knapp attended the tenth anniversary celebration of the Nanjing center. While in Taiwan, he met with a number of graduates of the School who are now in prominent positions, and was impressed by the high regard with which these alumni hold the School. The University is looking to increase its international activities by building on existing strengths.

In response to a question, Dr. Knapp updated the Advisory Board on the status of the search for the Chief Operating Officer/Dean of the Medical School and Health System. The search is a difficult one, and Dr. Brody is now acting as both University president and interim CEO for Medicine.

Remarks by the Dean:

Dr. Sommer commented that the article appearing in the Baltimore Sun about the School's fund raising efforts, while complimentary, conveyed some of the problems in "selling" the School and its message to potential donors. Even the Sun reversed the components of the School's name.

Dr. Sommer noted that Mr. Gail Warden, president and CEO of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, will come to the School on February 3 as part of the symposium series on managed care and will be available earlier in the day to meet with students and faculty.

Working with one of the television network affiliates in Baltimore, the School has developed a segment that appears on the late news entitled Following ER, to provide health messages about how to prevent the disease or condition featured on the television show ER. As the segment improves in quality, it is hoped that it will featured nationally.

Dr. Sommer congratulated all participants in the October 16 School-wide Research Day on the topic of cancer. A summary and conclusions from the retreat on professional practice are being circulated to retreat participants. Corrections or comments should be forwarded to the Dean before the summary is finalized.

Each chair is reminded to provide a few sentences on the goals and skills expected of graduates of their new DrPH programs.

Report of the Faculty Senate:

Dr. Scocca reported that liability of faculty is of great concern, particularly questions of which activities faculty engage in would be covered and which would not. The Senate is now attempting to get clarification of these issues from the University General Counsel's office so that faculty are fully informed about their risks.

Other items:

MPH/DrPH/Professional Education/Distance Education update

Dr. Vlahov joined the group. Dr. Lawrence briefly described the purposes of the CDC-funded program to train public health advisors using in-class and distance learning techniques. While the School has already made small investments in distance learning, this project will provide the stimulus for producing distance education around the world and for developing curricular goals and objectives.

He then reviewed a memo prepared by him and Dr. Vlahov, containing a series of recommendations for implementation of the new DrPH program. The new DrPH program is distinct from its predecessor in that the degree is oriented toward problem-solving rather than the discovery of new knowledge. Dr. Vlahov will serve as the program director, with the goal of admitting new students after January, 1997. Dr. Vlahov reported that he has met with the chairs of most of the departments offering the new DrPH and described a few of the issues and concerns that remain about implementing the new program. A DrPH Academic Committee will soon be constituted with input from the relevant departments. Program competencies and course requirements will be completed by January, 1997, and the DrPH comprehensive examination will be developed to test those competencies.

Dr. Lawrence described the process for faculty oversight of academic matters for professional education by the new Professional Education Academic Committee (PEAC), consisting of faculty representatives from the Committee on Academic Standards, the DrPH Academic Committee, an MPH Academic Committee, a faculty committee overseeing distance education activities, and a representative from the Office of Part-time Programs.

The question of part-time students in the new DrPH program was raised, and several members of the Advisory Board expressed concern that student advising will need to be more formalized than it now is for full-time students. The traditional model of doctoral education may be different for this program. It was suggested that the program begin with a limited number of students in defined areas or who have projects specified in advance. After further discussion, the Dean was asked to convene a small committee of department chairs and Dr. Vlahov to review the few issues remaining around implementation of the DrPH program.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

© 1996 The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Last updated by dgips@jhu.edu