Bloomberg School of Public Health
Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, January 30, 2003 | 3:00 p.m. | 868th Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Steven Knapp, Martha Hill, Edward Miller, Jonathan Samet, Donald Steinwachs, and Jonathan Weiner.

Guests: Drs. Sharon Krag and Cecile Pickart; Ms Diane Glover; and Mr. Herbert Hansen.

Meeting Convened: Dean Alfred Sommer convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 867th meeting on December 19, 2002 were approved with a minor correction.

Remarks by the Dean

Dean Sommer reported on his trip to Thailand with members of the University Board of Trustees and the School's Health Advisory Board. The experience was very positive, and the group spent much time with Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand. The group also observed several joint Hopkins-Thai research programs and a number of development projects in Thailand. Dr. Sommer then attended the World Economic Forum, which was an interesting and productive experience. He was asked to chair a committee of the World Economic Forum on global health, as well as serve on a scientific committee of the NIH Foundation's "Global Health Initiative" funded by the Gates Foundation.

Dr. Sommer noted that discussions have begun about the School's need for faculty dedicated to providing leadership in practice-oriented public health education, and that several position descriptions have been drafted for review at the February 27 COW meeting. Further discussions will take place shortly about the optimal organization and placement of these faculty.

The level of funding provided by the State of Maryland for private colleges is expected to decrease substantially in the next fiscal year, and will affect the entire University. Mr. Hansen reported that the School may receive $1 million less in FY04 vs FY03, according to the figures proposed in the State budget.

Report of the Faculty Senate

Dr. Links reported that the Faculty Senate and Committee of the Whole will be asked to review the recommendations on the "Faculty Balance of Effort" at the February 20, 2003 joint meeting.

Other itemsp> Proposed PPM on Ownership and Use of Educational Materials

Dr. Links briefly reviewed the PPM, and small changes that were made subsequent to its initial review by the Committee of the Whole. He noted that the PPM covers the relationship between the School and its faculty regarding ownership of educational materials, but does not cover the relationship between an external funder and the University/faculty.

After discussion, the new PPM was approved by the Advisory Board.

Department of Biostatistics Self Study

Dr. Zeger reviewed the history of the Department, and commented on the longstanding and close working relationships between Biostatistics faculty and the rest of the School. The principles of the department include a broad definition of biostatistics (e.g., foundations, methods and applications), a focus on recruitment of young tenure-track faculty, emphasis on statistical education for public health professionals, and governance of the Department as a committee of the whole.

Dr. Zeger reviewed several key achievements since the Department's last review, including recruitment of new junior faculty, offering courses at four levels plus advanced courses in targeted areas, and beginning development of a new masters program in Bioinformatics. He cited the substantial research productivity of Biostatistics faculty. The Biostatistics Center consults with approximately 150 clients per year, principally in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine, as well as several external clients.

The goals of the Department include recruiting new faculty focused in 4 areas, strengthening statistical education for public health professionals, and diversification of the PhD program.

After further discussion, Dr. Sommer thanked Dr. Zeger and commented that a committee to review the Department will be convened.

Update on Specimen Inventory and Repository Issues

Dr. Griffin reported on an exploratory meeting with a number of laboratory-based faculty members and representatives of ATCC, a vendor offering both inventory and repository storage capabilities. The purpose of the meeting was to explore relocating some of the large biologic specimen repositories presently located in the Wolfe Street building to off-site, but local facilities. Presently, a sizable number of freezers occupy valuable space in or near laboratories. In addition, a number of small repositories and freezers may benefit from a computerized inventory system.

Dr. Groopman commented that a complete inventory of biologic samples should be undertaken and suggested development of a comprehensive strategy for which samples should and should not be relocated off-site. At the next Management meeting, strategies to approach specimen inventory and off-site storage will be further explored.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

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Last updated 03Apr03 by dgips@jhu.edu