School of Hygiene and Public Health Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 19, 2000 / 3 p.m. / 843rd Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. John Groopman and Edward Miller.

Guests: Dr. Laura Morlock; Mss Thea Glidden and Diane Glover; and Msrrs. Sean Cohen, Herbert Hansen, and Trevor Villet.

Meeting Convened: President William Brody convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes

Minutes of the 842nd meeting on December 5, 2000 were approved.

Remarks by the President

President Brody congratulated the School on successfully hosting the recent JHU Board of Trustees meeting. He complimented the School's physical facilities, and Dean Sommer's talk to the Board members about the central position of the Hopkins School of Public Health in the global history and current status of public health.

President Brody remarked that the recently-ended campaign raised over $1.5 billion for the University, and that a new campaign now being formulated is anticipated to raise even more support. Each division is setting their priorities for the next campaign. Development of a clear case statement for the campaign will assist the University in setting their priorities, cultivating existing relationships, and developing new, long-term relationships with donors. In response to a question, President Brody noted that changes in federal inheritance tax laws may modestly effect the bequest process.

Remarks by the Dean

Dean Sommer commented that the Advisory Board and other groups within the School will be reviewing the Strategic Plan and setting their priorities for implementation. He noted that the Faculty Senate has begun to set its priorities.

Report from the Faculty Senate

Dr. Rose reported that the Faculty General Assembly recently heard useful presentations from the directors of the Welch and Lilienfeld Libraries, and from Mr. Hansen on components of federal Facilities and Administration charges (formerly known as indirect costs), and how they are spent. Dr. Brody noted that he is chairing a committee at the request of the director of the NIH on how to improve federal financing for research facilities at universities. Since few federal funds are currently available to finance new construction or updating of existing research facilities, Dr. Brody's committee is exploring possible mechanisms of support, and is happy for any suggestions from the Advisory Board.

Distance Education Update

Dr. Lawrence reported that the Distance Education (DE) Division is collaborating with the School of Medicine as it begins to think about web-based instruction. He noted that applications to the iMPH program have increased substantially compared to the same time last year, and that 39 web-based courses are now available. He is hoping that improved interface between the iMPH program and summer institutes will allow iMPH students more options to complete their degree programs.

Report on Searches

Dr. Sommer reported that advertisements for coordinated searches in "Quantitative and Molecular Sciences for Research on Populations" have been placed by several departments. The Behavioral Sciences area is now developing a seminar series that will include presentations by senior external leaders in behavioral and social sciences to better in inform a search process about important large issues and the current state of research in these areas.

OTHER ITEMS

Plans for SHPH Internet Web Site

Ms Glidden, director of Communications, and Mr. Sean Cohen and Mr. Trevor Villet Carton Donofrio Interactive (CDI) joined the Advisory Board. Ms Glidden noted that CDI has been retained by the School to help design and organize an improved internet website for the School which will focus on student recruitment as well as other audiences. CDI has been asked to think through the most appropriate site architecture, as well as the appearance of the site to potential external users. Since the School has separate external and internal audiences, CDI has been asked to consider only the external site architecture. However, an improved external site will be closely linked to a redesigned internal site now being planned by Ms Glidden, the SHPH Office of Information Systems, and others in the School. Mssrs. Cohen and Villet provided a brief assessment of the School's current website, which had been presented in greater detail to the School at an open meeting several weeks earlier. Websites of several other schools of public health were used as benchmarks, and the School's relative position in a number of major search engines was assessed. The School fared moderately well in search engines rankings, but varied substantially by topic/title, leaving much room for improvement. A review of the School's current website architecture was undertaken and revealed that no standard exists for the "look" or content of the School's website and it's many pages, nor does the responsibility to design, organize and maintain the website rest with any one person or group. CDI's recommendations include reorganizing the internet site, increasing communications and displays for web visitors, and having fewer "stops" to get to important information. Now that the assessment has been completed, the next steps will include specifying and planning a more appropriate architecture and design, with much input from the School.

Dr. Zeger expressed concern about developing separate internet and intranet systems that might discourage potential students from becoming fully informed about the environment of a department very early in the applications process. He further noted that the main internet "customer" of the School may well be the NIH rather than potential students. Mr. Villet noted that many customer groups can be served with an improved internet site, and that the internet and intranet would have different purposes and looks but may contain much overlap in information.

Dr. Knapp commented that CDI has also been engaged to review the JHU website and asked about the interaction between the two processes. Mr. Villet stated that revamping the JHU and SHPH internet sites are running in parallel and are now approximately at the same stage of development, but that few efficiencies can be achieved as the needs of each project are different. After further discussion, Drs. Knapp and Sommer thanked Ms Glidden, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Villet for their concise presentation.

Agreement with the University of Maryland Business School

Dr. Laura Morlock joined the Advisory Board. She reported that Dean Sommer and the dean of the University of Maryland Business School have signed an agreement to permit cross- registration between the Schools. This agreement will be of interest to students at the University of Maryland Business School who seek to improve their training in health finance and health management, and to SHPH students who need additional depth in information technologies and management. There is no duplication as neither institution currently offers the coursework that students would take at the other institution. This opportunity, which has also been approved by the SHPH Committee on Academic Standards, will be available for all SHPH doctoral and masters students, including MPH students, and no tuition exchange will be involved. The registrar's offices of both institutions are still working out the details, but Dr. Morlock is optimistic that students will be able to take advantage of this opportunity in the third term, although the number of students involved is expected to be small.

Dr. Morlock noted that this arrangement is not exclusive and that similar discussions are underway with SPSBE for a joint MPH/MBA, as well as other possibilities within the Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Sommer commented that the success of this arrangement will be evaluated after a few years, and that it allows students from either institution to gain greater depth in their training without duplication of effort in either institution.

Revision to Administration & Governance PPM #9 on Procedures for Affirmative Action Report Form -- for vote

Minor changes to the Administration & Governance PPM #9 on Procedures for Affirmative Action Report Form were reviewed by the Advisory Board. The changes were proposed to make the PPM describing the procedures for use of the Affirmative Action Form consistent with recent changes in the Affirmative Action Form itself. The Advisory Board voted to approve the Administration & Governance PPM #9 on Procedures for Affirmative Action Report Form.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

© 2001 The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Last updated 02Feb01 by dgips@jhu.edu