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Although
the School of Public Health has existed officially for 52 years, the
presence of public health in the university dates back to the 1860s. We
are, therefore, one of the oldest disciplines in the institution.
Our
school is one of two educational bodies in the university that has
"public" in its title (the other is the Humphrey Institute of
Public Affairs). The word "public" is key because it
emphasizes that this school focuses on the health of groups of people
and populations, rather than the treatment of sick individuals.
The
second half of our title is "health" - we emphasize the
prevention of injury and illness, rather than the treatment of disease.
Our preventive approaches include research and education programs that
examine the external (environmental) nature of human health risks;
methods to control such risk factors; the effects of human behavior on
health risks; methods to change unhealthy behavior; the design and
management of illness and injury prevention programs; and research into
the economics and effective delivery of health care services.
The
School of Public Health thus offers a broad interdisciplinary approach
towards maintaining the health of the people of Minnesota. Indeed, the
School of Public Health is perhaps the only body at the university whose
faculty and graduates influence the health and welfare of every
Minnesotan every day.
Furthermore,
because this school is the only one of its type within 500 miles, many
of our professional education and research programs have a regional
emphasis, addressing the needs of populations throughout the Upper
Midwest and Plains States, and central Canada. Our highly productive
faculty are also well known nationally and internationally.
As
a result of strong research and professional education programs, the
School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota consistently
ranks between fifth and seventh among the 28 schools throughout the
country. Considering that we compete directly with schools of public
health at Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Berkeley, Michigan, North Carolina,
Washington, and other prominent institutions, our ranking is impressive.
Some of our program areas have been ranked number one nationally, and we
are always looking for ways to place more programs in that premier
position.
Because
we are such a multidisciplinary school our faculty frequently work with
units throughout the university, including other schools within the
Academic Health Center (AHC), the Humphrey Institute, the Carlson School
of Management, the Minnesota Extension Service, the College of
Agriculture, the Institute of Technology, and others. We strive to be
collegial and helpful while at the same time maintaining our distinct
professional identity.
The
accompanying fact sheet summarizes the main features of the School of
Public Health. Some of the highlights include the following.
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We generate more
funding per capita than any other academic unit in the university,
earning roughly $450,000 per faculty member per year in extramural
support for research and professional education programs; external
funding accounts for more than 85 percent of the school's total
expenditures
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We have a strong
teaching record, graduating 150-200 masters' and doctoral students
per year and teaching more than 600 FYEs annually (second only to
the Medical School within the AHC)
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We are active in
continuing education, outreach and service activities, working with
state and federal legislators; state government departments
(including health, pollution control, natural resources, labor and
industry, agriculture); health professions; local industries, HMOs
and insurance companies; and directly with the public through local
government, community organizations, private groups, and the
Minnesota Extension Service.
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Divisions:
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Biostatistics
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Environmental
and Occupational Health
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Epidemiology
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Health
Management and Policy
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Health
Services Research and Policy
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Staffing:
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69 FTE
regular faculty (tenured and tenure-track)
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20 FTE
non-regular faculty (annually renewable)
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72
academic professional and administrative staff
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550
civil service staff/student employees
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172
graduate teaching and research assistants
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Space:
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190,509
square feet in 11 different buildings
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University
owned property:
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On
campus
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76,302
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Off
campus
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61,627
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137,929
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Other
rental property
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52,580
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Funding:
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University
Allocations 1996-1998
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State
revenue
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1996-1997
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1997-1998
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State
subsidy
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$6,696,000
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*
$3,171,000
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State
specials
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410,000
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410,000
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$7,106,000
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$3,581,000
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Earned
income
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Tuition
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0
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$1,713,000
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ICR
returned
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$1,922,000
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3,431,000
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$1,922,000
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$5,144,000
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Total
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$9,028,000
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$8,725,000
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Expenditures
1996-1997
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State
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O&M
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$7,141,000
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State
specials
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679,000
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$7,820,000
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Federal
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Federal
research
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$26,371,000
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Federal
training
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2,254,000
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Other
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352,000
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$28,977,000
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Private
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Private
Research
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$6,557,000
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Private
training
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664,000
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Other
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5,936,000
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$13,157,000
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Total
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$49,954,000
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Majors:
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Biostatistics
- MPH, MS. PhD
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Community
Health Education - MPH
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Environmental
Health - MPH, MS, PhD
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Epidemiology
- MPH, MS, PhD
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Health
Services Research & Policy - MS, PhD
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Maternal
and Child Health - MPH
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Public
Health Administration - MPH
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Public
Health Nutrition - MPH
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Instruction:
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350
students in 15 professional and graduate majors
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7
Master of Public Health (MPH) majors programs
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4 MS
and 4 PhD majors programs
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190
graduates/year
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140
MPH, 50 MS, PhD
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Classroom
teaching: >600 FTEs/year
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Continuing
education: >100 courses/year and >3,000
attendees/year
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Research:
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More
than 100 sponsored research projects ranging from
under $5,000 to over $1,000,000
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Examples
of broad areas of research:
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Environmental
research
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Health
risks to the public
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Community
health intervention studies
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Health
care financing
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National
clinical trail coordination
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Policy
analysis for health care and public health
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Faculty
Productivity:
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On
average, each SPH regular and non-regular faculty
member provided the following services to the
university in 1996-1997:
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Generated
more than $470,000 per FTE in external funding (a
return to the university of $6.60 for each state
dollar expended)
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Instructed
7.1 FYEs
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Graduated
2.1 masters and doctoral students
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Taught
34 continuing education attendees
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Performed
numerous uncounted services, large and small, for the
public of Minnesota.
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*
1997-1998 state subsidy has been decreased by $662,000
to reflect funds allocated by Central Administration
(and immediately returned) for space costs.
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