setting shall facilitate interdisciplinary communication, cooperation and collaboration that contribute to achieving the program’s public health mission. The organizational structure shall effectively support the work of the program’s constituents.
The UW MPH program is organized to facilitate interdisciplinary communication, cooperation, and collaboration, and supports the work of the program’s constituents. The MPH is administratively located in the Department of Population Health Sciences, in the School of Medicine and Public Health. The Department provides support for all aspects of the program, i.e., support for personnel, fiscal accountability, information technology, and academic support services.
Despite its administrative home within a Department in the School of Medicine and Public Health, the MPH program is truly an interdisciplinary program that draws upon faculty, staff, and students from across the Health Sciences, UW-Madison, and UW-System campuses.
Within the UW SMPH, the MPH program has three distinct, yet coordinated relationships. First, as one of the school’s educational programs, the Director of the MPH program reports to Elizabeth Petty, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the Office of Academic Affairs, and Patrick Remington, the Associate Dean for Public Health.
Second, the MPH Program Director reports to Javier Nieto, Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences. The Department provides administrative support for the program, including staff hiring, space allocations, and approval of courses. In addition, most of the core program faculty and many of the secondary program faculty are members of the Department, and receive direct support for teaching andrelated services.
Finally, the MPH Program Director reports to the MPH Steering Committee. This committee is represented by faculty from across the UW-Madison campus and provides direction on all MPH program policies. Membership is continually reviewed to ensure representation from those schools and departments with faculty, staff, and students interested in the MPH program’s educational, research, and service programs.
1.4.a One or more organizational charts delineating the administrative organization of the program, indicating relationships among its internal components.
The MPH program’s management and staffing is shown in the figure below (Figure 4).
Figure 4
In February 2013, as a result of the self-study, the Department of Population Health appointed Barbara Duerst as the Director of Public Health Education and Training, to organize and provide order, continuity, consistency, and resource sharing for all of the Department’s public health education and training programs. Included in the unit are the MPH program, the Wisconsin Center for Public Health Education and Training (WiCPHET), UW-Public Health and Primary Care Innovations in Medical Education (UW-PRIME), the Preventive Medicine Residency (PMR)
program, and the MPH program’s Distance Education arm. The formation of this unit enabled the MPH program to increase its staff by 0.5 FTE in the sharing of the Community Engagement Coordinator with the UW-PRIME. Staff members within the unit meet regularly. An organizational chart for the unit is included below (Figure 5).
Whereas the MPH program is administered in the Department of Population Health Sciences, within the School of Medicine and Public Health, its strength lies in its interdisciplinary
coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among the diverse faculty, staff, and students from throughout the UW-Madison campus, and beyond. The MPH program supports this
interdisciplinary aspect in three major ways:
• Diverse UW Public Health Program Faculty;
• Strong interdisciplinary membership of the Steering Committee; and
• Diverse dual degree MPH programs across the Health Science and UW-Madison campus. Public Health program faculty members are appointed by the Steering Committee based on their involvement in the educational and professional development of MPH students and their
substantive and ongoing contributions to the MPH program. Public Health program faculty members are appointed with the understanding that they may be asked to serve on students' Capstone Committees. Public Health program faculty members come from across the Health Science and UW-Madison campus, representing the interdisciplinary nature of the program and contributing substantively to the MPH program through teaching, mentoring, and service. Public Health program faculty are appointed for 3 years, and reviewed annually by the Steering
Community. Public Health program faculty members include: • Core Course Directors;
• MPH Committee Members (Steering, Curriculum, Promotions, and Admissions); and • Other individuals who make significant contributions to teaching, mentoring and service in
the MPH program (may be faculty, staff or community members).
The MPH program is governed by an interdisciplinary Steering Committee, which meets approximately six times during the academic year from September to May. The Steering Committee and its members, as well as other interdisciplinary committees are described more fully in section 1.5.
1.4.b. Description of the manner in which interdisciplinary coordination, cooperation and collaboration occur and support public health learning, research, and service.
The criterion is met.
Strengths: Because of the MPH program's organizational structure, it is grounded in facilitation of interdisciplinary communication and cooperation. The program has a comprehensive set of governance and oversight committees that infuse guidance, headed by the MPH Steering Committee with its extensive interdisciplinary composition. Day-to-day operations are headed by the Director and the Deputy Director with noted responsibilities and reporting structures, further grounded in excellent support staff. The overall reporting structure of the MPH program
guarantees oversight and accountability at multiple levels. Weaknesses: None noted.
Plans: Whereas the structure is monitored and reviewed at least annually, there are no current or significant actions currently being undertaken.
1.4.c. Assessment of the extent to which this criterion is met and an analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.
1.5 Governance. The program administration and faculty shall have clearly defined rights