MEMBERS ABSENT: Drs. William Brody, John Breitner, Diane Griffin, W. Henry Mosley, Jonathan Samet, and Scott Zeger.

GUESTS: Dr. Noel Rose and Ms Diane Glover. Provost Steven Knapp convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Minutes of the 808th meeting on January 27, 1998 were approved.

REMARKS BY THE PROVOST: Dr. Knapp remarked that several searches are now underway. Candidates for the deans of Arts and Sciences and of Engineering are visiting and a search firm is seeking candidates for the position of Chief Information Officer of the University.

REMARKS BY THE DEAN:

Dr. Sommer announced the deaths of Dr. John Hume, dean emeritus of the School, and Dr. Howard Goodman, professor emeritus in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. A service in Dr. Hume's memory is planned for April.

The group was reminded of the retreat on Saturday, February 21, where the School's academic programs and models will be revisited, along with beginning work on educational program competencies as part of the School's self-study in preparation for reaccreditation. A faculty steering committee has been convened to oversee the self-study process. Dr. MacKenzie has kept this process progressing and well-focused.

Dr. Sommer announced that the nine living former U.S. Surgeons General and Dr. David Satcher, the newly-confirmed Surgeon General, will come to the School April 2. There will be a small lunch, a symposium where the Surgeons General will speak about the major health problem they faced during their term, and a dinner in the School. Dr. Harold Varmus, Director of the U. S. National Institutes of Health will be the 1998 Convocation speaker. Dr. Sommer commented on several other initiatives of broad interest to the School.

REPORT OF THE FACULTY SENATE: Dr. Scocca reported that the Faculty Senate and Committee of the Whole met jointly. At the meeting, revisions of the Student Academic Ethics Code and new Student Conduct code were approved, the CEPH self-study and accreditation process was described, and it was agreed that an evaluation of the scientist track will be undertaken now that the track has been in place for one to two years. Dr. MacKenzie will head a small faculty evaluation committee, which will include members of the scientist track.

OTHER ITEMS

FOLLOWUP OF LOBBYING EFFORTS Dr. Sommer reviewed the rationale for the School's lobbying efforts at the federal level, noting that the initiative was supported by the Abell Foundation. He commented that efforts from the first year were very productive in terms of allocation of new funds or putting the School in the queue for future funds. Projects for next year are now being assembled, and several new areas are now being identified.

He noted that the Association for Schools of Public Health is undertaking a related activity. New programs in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences Dr. Groopman commented that the Department of Environmental Health Sciences has run the summer institute in Environmental Health Sciences for the past ten years, but noted that there were few repeat individuals or organizations. As a result, the summer institute has been reorganized into two certificate programs (one in occupational health and one in environmental health) with another certificate to be added in the future. Over several years, students can amass credits towards a certificate. Courses can be modified over time to accommodate new interests and timely topics. The goal is to bring in students who will become accustomed to spending 2 weeks per year in the School and can successfully obtain release time from their employers. Students will then be able to take other courses and certificate programs and build toward a degree.

Members of the Advisory Board congratulated Dr. Groopman on this exciting initiative. Dr. Lawrence noted that increased opportunities for packaging courses will occur as a result of changing the 8-week summer term to two 4-week summer terms. Special courses and institutes can therefore be held during June, July and August, in addition to introductory courses offered for MPH students. This flexible curriculum allows other departments to reexamine their curricula with an eye toward a master plan for education. Several chairs felt that the School should think strategically about the future of it's educational efforts, particularly in the area of professional programs.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

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