Mission, Goals, and Objectives

Mission

The mission of the Department of Public Health is to empower a generation of public health professionals with skills, knowledge, and competencies to contribute creatively and ethically to education, research and service to promote public health and disease prevention.  The program fosters the spirit of community engagement through education, service, and community-based participatory research.

Values

• Integrity and candor in the pursuit of knowledge through intellectual inquiry and discourse
• Dedication to and innovation in educating our students to excel
• Excellence in teaching, research and service
• Creativity in designing and implementing our programs to fit the needs of the region
• Cooperation and collaboration with community and UWF partners in providing quality education in the life and health sciences
• Commitment to diversity at all levels
• Responsibility in managing, utilizing and protecting our resources and the environment
• Promote a dynamic learning environment that encourages development of individual potential

All faculty teaching in the Department of Public Health are expected to employ these values in their teaching, research, and service. These values are reinforced during routine interaction with administration, students, faculty, and adjuncts teaching in the Department of Public Health.  In addition, these values are integrated throughout the fabric of the Department of Public Health's teaching research, and service. 

Goals and Objectives

This mission is fostered in an environment that provides quality academic education and structured professional experiences to emphasize engagement in community service and the generation, dissemination and integration of scientific knowledge into public health practice. The following goals and objectives provide the framework for achieving this mission by emphasizing the recruitment of a committed pool of MPH candidates to a learning environment that supports diversity and individual potential, with: service aligned to community needs, teaching responsive to continuous quality improvement, research activities engaging both faculty and students.

Goal #1: Education: Educate and train future generations of public health professionals equipped with knowledge, competencies, and skills to address the health challenges of the 21st century and beyond.

• Objective 1: Recruit academically prepared students.
• Objective 2: Prepare students to acquire competencies in public health.
• Objective 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of the MPH Program curriculum 
  through continuous program assessment.

Goal #2: Research: Promote faculty, student, and community engagement in public health research to improve and sustain health locally, nationally, and globally.

• Objective 1: Support engagement of program faculty in scholarly activities following criteria established in program tenure and promotion guidelines.
• Objective 2: Strive to increase extramural funding associated with core faculty scholarly activities.
• Objective 3: Increase student involvement in faculty research and community-based participatory research.

Goal #3: Service: Promote a culture of engagement to serve Northwest Florida and beyond through outreach, education, and community connections.

• Objective 1: Develop partnerships with health agencies, community-based organizations, health care institutions and military communities to facilitate reciprocal learning and the application of scholarship that contribute to improving population health.
• Objective 2: Strive to promote and increase experiential learning opportunities for students to provide service to community-based and governmental organizations in their geographical areas.
• Objective 3: Increase opportunities for community stakeholders to contribute to the mission and goals of the MPH Program.

Goal #4: Faculty and Staff: Recruit, retain and support faculty and staff in an environment that emphasizes professional development and excellence in scholarly and teaching endeavors.

• Objective 1: Recruit, promote, and retain high-quality faculty that supports the mission, goals, and values of the program.
• Objective 2: Recruit and retain a qualified and productive staff that supports the mission, goals, and values of the program.

Goal #5: Diversity: Provide and promote an environment that emphasizes diversity and individual potential among student, faculty, and staff.

• Objective 1: Recruit, promote, and retain a diverse faculty who support the mission, goals and values of the program.
• Objective 2: Recruit, promote, and retain a diverse staff who support the mission, goals and values of the program.
• Objective 3: Recruit, retain and graduate a diverse student population who support the mission, goals and values of the program.