VISION 2027 STRATEGIC PLAN
In fall 2021, the School of Public Health embarked on a strategic planning process. A task force of faculty, staff, and external partners led the School of Public Health in a participatory process that engaged stakeholder groups at each step along the way.
Guiding our school’s continued growth over the next five years, this plan details our efforts to expand our reach and impact, to tell our story, and to engage those who share our values, vision, and mission.
Goal #1: Become a national leader in educating and preparing the next generation of public health professionals and leaders to advance health equity.
Priority Initiatives:
- Ensure that the curriculum across all public health academic degree programs promotes inclusivity and equity to eliminate health disparities.
- Provide support for students at all degree levels for experiential learning and applied research aligned with the Georgia State University “College to Career” initiative.
- Support student success by investing in faculty development to improve teaching and mentoring.
- Create impactful marketing and branding that amplify the many research and field-based opportunities for students and partners to improve health conditions and outcomes.
Goal #2: Expand interdisciplinary and applied research to address current and future public health challenges.
Priority Initiatives:
- Strengthen the human, technological, and financial infrastructure to support current and future research.
- Create an interdisciplinary research center to support the school’s mission to be leader in health equity training and research.
- Advance research targeted to eliminating health disparities.
Goal #3: Build and support sustainable teaching and research partnerships with communities and organizations to advance the mission of the School of Public Health.
Priority Initiatives:
- Identify new and expand existing partnerships with communities and community-based organizations in Atlanta that provide opportunities for applied research and field-based placements for students.
- Expand partnerships that strengthen student training and education in global health and equity.
- Identify and promote opportunities for international collaboration with global partners (e.g., Fulbright, WHO, CARE, World Affairs Council.).
- Promote faculty and staff work with partners and community stakeholders (e.g., university service, board membership, volunteerism, continuing education).
Goal #4: Ensure operational excellence and organizational exceptionalism throughout the School of Public Health.
Priority Initiatives:
- Cultivate, nurture, and institutionalize a culture of belonging and inclusion across our work environment.
- Promote career development that ensures faculty and staff success, retention, and growth.
- Ensure the breadth and diversity of faculty and staff necessary to underpin the school’s success.
- Serve as the destination of choice for students seeking an affordable and meaningful public health education.
- Secure and sustain internal and external funding necessary to support institutional priorities and to expand the school’s reach and impact.
Dean Rodney Lyn
Rodney Lyn, Dean and Professor[/caption]
Public Health at Georgia State University has grown rapidly over the years. Since our first cohort of graduate certificate students in 2002, we have developed into a fully accredited school, offering a full complement of degree programs. Our growing enrollment has now surpassed 900 students, with a network of over 1,700 alumni serving their communities through research, education, and practice at public health institutions and agencies, nationally and around the globe. We are expanding our global reach through research collaborations and study abroad programs with partners in countries such as Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
The School of Public Health’s research impact includes prolific scholarship by our internationally recognized faculty and a record-breaking $21 million in sponsored funding this past fiscal year. We have research expertise and community-based interventions focused on chronic disease and determinants; infectious disease; urban environment and urban health; substance use and mental health; and tobacco prevention and control. The School of Public Health houses the Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development, a university-level research center dedicated to preventing child maltreatment, reducing family violence, and improving the lives of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have recently established a Prevention Research Center aimed at eliminating health disparities of the refugee, immigrant, and migrant community in Clarkston, Georgia. The growth and success of the School of Public Health reflects the incredible talent and commitment of our students, faculty, and staff, the investment and guidance of our board of advisors, and the joint efforts and support of our community partners. As we continue to recruit extraordinary talent and to cultivate new partnerships locally and globally, we find inspiration and enthusiasm in imagining the future of our school and what we can achieve together.
In fall 2021, we embarked on a strategic planning process. A task force of faculty, staff, and external partners led the School of Public Health in a participatory process that engaged stakeholder groups at each step along the way. Over the last academic year, our diverse community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners has come together to name the shared values that define us. We believe health is a human right. Our vision and mission are rooted in our commitment to health equity. We appreciate and respect all aspects of diversity. We champion equity, inclusion, and social justice. In a collective voice, we have declared this is who we are; this is what we value; and this is where we are going. We believe the School of Public Health is poised to become a premier urban school of public health, solving contemporary and emerging public health challenges through interdisciplinary and applied research. A national leader in health equity education and the destination of choice for students, nationally and internationally. This is the future we have collectively envisioned for the School of Public Health, and we are committed to realizing it together.
We proudly present the School of Public Health Strategic Plan. Guiding our school’s continued growth over the next five years, this plan details our efforts to expand our reach and impact, to tell our story, and to engage those who share our values, vision, and mission. Successful implementation of our strategic plan will be a joint initiative drawing upon the expertise, ingenuity, and passion across our school. We are grateful for the countless contributions of time and energy that have led to the development of this plan, and we are excited to begin this work together.
Our Mission:
To be a premier urban school of public health, dedicated to advancing health equity and solving contemporary and emerging health issues through education, research, and community engagement.
Our Vision:
To achieve health equity through principled leadership in research, training, and practice—locally, nationally, and globally.
Our Values:
Faculty, staff, students, and graduates of the School of Public Health embrace and incorporate these core principles, beliefs, and priorities across our work:
- Promoting health as a human right
- Respecting and appreciating all aspects of diversity
- Championing equity, inclusion, and social justice
- Sustaining and safeguarding healthy environments
- Operating with integrity, accountability, and transparency
- Ensuring education and research improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities
Process
This plan provides strategic direction for the School of Public Health through 2027. It is the culminating product of a multi-phase, inclusive, and participatory process led by a specially convened task force of SPH faculty, staff, and external partners with guidance from a team of expert consultants. Planning commenced with an assessment of the school’s current strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential opportunities and threats, through a SWOT analysis. The School of Public Health community and its many constituents were surveyed, and university and public health leaders participated in key informant interviews. At a school-wide, day-long retreat, faculty and staff gathered to review assessment findings and engage in a collaborative visioning process, charting the course for the next phase of work. On this foundation, the task force launched an iterative process to identify and articulate the school’s mission, vision, values, strategic goals, and priority initiatives. Through faculty and staff participation on task force subcommittees and in a series of school-wide forums, feedback from faculty and staff across the school informed this process, resulting in a completed plan that reflects the collective vision and efforts of the school. Although the planning phase has concluded, the school will continue to seek input as the plan is implemented and progress is tracked. The School of Public Health is committed to regularly assessing and adapting this plan to meet the evolving needs of the communities it serves.
Timeline
Fall 2021
Creation of strategic planning task force. SPH community provides input through SWOT analysis and key informant interviews. Faculty and staff gather for all-day retreat.
Spring 2022
Task force leads iterative process, informed by faculty and staff feedback, to identify and articulate the school’s mission, vision, values, strategic goals, and priority initiatives.
Summer 2022
School of Public Health leadership develops implementation plan and identifies key performance indicators to monitor progress.
Fall 2022
School of Public Health adopts and disseminates strategic plan.
Taskforce
Collins Airhihenbuwa
(Task Force Chair), Professor, Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences
Heather Bradley
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences
Emily Graybill
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences
Director of the Center for Leadership in Disability
Harry Heiman
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences
Dr.P.H. Program Director
Rosemarie Henson
Member, School of Public Health Board of Advisors
Chief of Staff, Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network, Emory Global Health Institute
Courtney Jones
Senior Training Specialist, National SafeCare Training and Research Center
Katherine Masyn
Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences
Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs
Karen Nielsen
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences
Kim Ramsey-White
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Lisa Waddell
Chief Medical Officer, CDC Foundation
Jyll Walsh
Program Manager, Prevent Child Abuse Georgia
Consultants
Ken Bernhardt
Regents’ Professor of Marketing Emeritus, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Ian Lapp
Provost, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Ed Baker
Expert in Residence, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Valerie Hepburn
Retired President and Faculty Member, College of Coastal Georgia
Historical Milestones for Public Health at Georgia State University
- 2002 – Graduate Certificate in Public Health launched
- 2004 – Master of Public Health program launched
- 2007 – MPH degree program initially accredited
- 2011 – Doctor of Philosophy program launched
- 2012 – MPH program re-accredited
- 2012 – Public Health becomes standalone institute at GSU
- 2013 – MPH/Juris Doctor program launched
- 2014 – School of Public Health established
- 2016 – School of Public Health initially accredited
- 2016 – Bachelor of Science program launched
- 2017 – MPH/PhD Community Psychology program launched
- 2018 – Doctor of Public Health program launched
- 2021 – Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate launched
- 2021 – School of Public Health re-accredited
Office of Academic Assistance
Urban Life Building
140 Decatur Street
Suite 300
Mailing Addresses
School of Public Health
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3995
Atlanta, GA 30302-3995
Express & Overnight Mailing
Name of Faculty or Staff
School of Public Health
Georgia State University
140 Decatur Street - Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30303