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Message from the Dean
I want to thank you all for the warm welcome that I received as I began my journey here at SPHIS. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our faculty, staff, students, and alumni through various community receptions and individual meetings.
It’s hard to believe four months has already passed. I have been busy learning as much as I can about opportunities for growth and areas of improvement at SPHIS.
Last month, we hosted an off-campus retreat with faculty and staff to help improve communication, enhance transparency, and strengthen our sense of community at SPHIS. We will be also hosting a school-wide strategic planning workshop later this month to come up with a collective vision for SPHIS.
This summer has been full of celebrations. In August, we welcomed Melissa Eggen, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Health Management and Systems Sciences, and Shih-Ting Huang, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics. We celebrated career milestones for Drs. Stephanie Boone, Aishia Brown, David Johnson, and Doug Lorenz. We also bid farewell to Dr. Muriel Harris, Dr. Frank Groves, and Robin Newlon as they celebrated their retirements. They will be missed, but we wish them the best during their next chapters in life.
I’m also happy to report that we are preparing to launch searches for chairs of the Dept. of Health Management and Systems Sciences and the Dept. of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences. We hope to have finalists on campus before the end of the fall semester.
Switching to academics, the campus is buzzing with energy as students have returned. I enjoyed connecting with new and familiar faces at our Welcome Week picnic. I’m also proud to report record enrollment in the graduate programs at SPHIS.
Another exciting initiative is our inaugural cohort of nine SPHIS student ambassadors. This outstanding group of undergraduate and graduate students is enthusiastic about sharing their passion for public health and the University of Louisville. Keep an eye out for them at various events on and off campus as well as on the SPHIS social media channels.
I’m also pleased to share that we launched a new joint degree program in partnership with the J.B. Speed School of Engineering this semester: The MS in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. We've also moved our MS in Epidemiology 100% online to appeal to a broader student population.
Homecoming is fast approaching, and we’re excited to announce our 2024 Alumni Fellow, Matt Rhodes, MPH '15. Please join us for a celebration, in-person or on Zoom, Thursday, October 24.
We’ll have another chance to get together at the APHA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. I hope you will join us for the Alumni and Friends Reception on Monday, October 28, and visit our booth (#2513) at the Public Health Expo.
In the interim, please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or X or follow SPHIS on social media to see all the happenings on campus this fall.
Go Cards!
Dean Katie Cardarelli
