Contact: Debra Humphreys, VP for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760 (ext. 422)
Humphreys@aacu.org

Contact: Carol Dunsworth, Towson University Relations Office
410-704-4672
cdunsworth@towson.edu

New Recommendations Encourage Development of Undergraduate Courses in Public Health; Campus Events Planned for Public Health Week, April 6-12

The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research and the Association of American Colleges and Universities Recommendations Focus on Development of General Education Courses in Public Health, Epidemiology, and Global Health

Washington, DC - April 2, 2009 - Every day, as we try to buy safe toys for our children, consider the rates of obesity, or discuss global warming, we come face to face with public health as a crucial issue of both private and public interest. Several national organizations have come together in collaboration to make integrative education in public health available to all undergraduates at two-year and four-year colleges and universities as part of their general education.  The Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative advances curricula on public health issues within a comprehensive liberal education framework. The Initiative aims to fulfill the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that, “all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.”  Developed in part by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR), the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the initiative is helping faculty develop innovative public health curricula for undergraduates.

The initiative aims to connect and inform, to bring undergraduate study of integrative public health to all baccalaureate institutions, to foster interdisciplinary and inter-professional collaboration, and to link to other initiatives that address human health and environmental sustainability.  Most recently, the initiative released a report, “Recommendations for Undergraduate Public Health Education.”  The publication provides principles for design of core courses and specific examples of outcomes and structures for courses in Public Health 101, Epidemiology 101, and Global Health 101.  It also provides recommendations for designing undergraduate minors in public health and a set of curriculum development resources.

“The Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative began as a student-driven initiative,” said Dr. Richard Riegelman, professor and founding dean of George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services.  “Undergraduates see the connections between public health and the big questions they face from the health of the environment to HIV/AIDS and other emerging diseases to the costs of health care.  Colleges and universities throughout the country are responding in creative ways to this interest.”

“We are heartened and hopeful to see the creative energy of campus responses—students, staff, and faculty—designing courses, programs, campus-wide events—as campuses engage a grand challenge of our time: how to address human health as we imagine a globally sustainable future?,” noted Susan Albertine, co-author of Recommendations for Undergraduate Public Health, and Senior Director for LEAP State Initiatives at AAC&U.

During Public Health Week (April 6-12), campuses are sponsoring faculty and student events supporting undergraduate public health education.  For example, the Maryland Public Health Association and Towson University will be sponsoring a day of undergraduate public health activities on Monday April 6th, including sessions on undergraduate public health education and the community. 

For information about the events at Towson University, contact Carol Dunsworth, Towson University Relations Office, at 410-704-4672 or cdunsworth@townson.edu.

To learn more about the Educated Citizen and Public Health and download a copy of the report, Recommendations for Undergraduate Public Health Education, see www.aacu.org/public_health.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,150 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.