First published on May 8, 2020 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

The Sunshine Education and Research Center (Sunshine ERC) located in the USF College of Public Health is one of 18 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) education and research centers across the nation that provides interdisciplinary training of occupational safety and health professionals.

The Sunshine ERC, which was founded in 1997, offers programs collaboratively with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Arts and Sciences and focuses on evidence-based practice and research, continuing education and outreach.

“Over the years this continuing education program evolved into a vehicle to provide low cost opportunities for professional development,” said Dr. Thomas E. Bernard, USF College of Public Health professor and Sunshine ERC center director. “The scope of the center also increased with pilot project research training and more opportunities for interdisciplinary activities.”

According to Bernard, USF COPH’s Drs. Yehia Hammad, Stuart Brooks and Pete Rentos had a vision for starting a NIOSH-supported education and research center that would be the first new center in a decade.

“As funded, the Sunshine ERC was the umbrella for industrial hygiene, occupational medicine and occupational health nursing with a nascent continuing education program. We then added occupational safety and occupational health psychology (OHP)­­—the first ERC to have an OHP program,” he said.

Bernard and Dr. Candance Burns of the College of Nursing, assumed leadership of the Sunshine ERC in 2008.

According to Bernard, with growing support from NIOSH, the Sunshine ERC affiliated with the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), expanded interdisciplinary activities and enhanced outreach into underserved populations.

“This momentum carried us into the current funding cycle with the addition of UCF to support research training directed at the hospitality industry, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a new vision of occupational safety, and programs with UPR in disaster resilience for workers. Further, we now have a supported online program in health, safety and environment,” Bernard said.

The Sunshine ERC focuses on providing training that reflects the needs of key industries in Florida and emerging issues of the nation.

“Students in the Sunshine ERC receive solid training in their chosen field,” Bernard said. “The real value-added is further experience in interdisciplinary activities to better prepare them for the practice of occupational health, safety and wellness.”

Trainees spend time with peers from across disciplines in public health, nursing, and medicine at USF, psychology at USF and UCF, hospitality at UCF, and aviation at Embry-Riddle, according to Bernard.

“Each trainee is enrolled in a degree program within their institution,” Bernard said. “It is the interdisciplinary experience that takes them beyond their specific discipline.”

For example, Bernard explained, trainees are expected to attend one ERC-wide session that provides information of interest to all.

“This varies a little and includes responsible conduct of research, general principles of occupational health, safety and wellness, and team building exercises,” he said.

Trainees are also encouraged to attend national symposiums and also contribute and participate in research projects sponsored by the ERC and its faculty.

Zach Brandes-Powell, a second year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has expanded his experience level as a student. 

“The mentoring and encouragement of the professors and members of the ERC have helped to push me to do things I wouldn’t have thought I was capable of with my current level of experience,” he said.  “For example, through the ERC’s support, I was able to co-present on the benefit of internships for occupational safety and health students and professionals at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE). With their encouragement, I also started to offer to tutor students taking industrial hygiene related courses. These opportunities have helped me to develop skills that will be beneficial to me in life and throughout my career in occupational safety and industrial hygiene.”

Brandes-Powell said going to AIHCE 2019 has been a highlight for him.

“We were able to meet students from ERCs around the country and interact with alumni of the program. The impact that the ERC has on its students was evident as the current students instantly found common ground with the alumni when talking about our courses and projects,” he said.

Miriam Escobar, also a second-year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has helped her expand her networking abilities with professionals from other disciplines.  

“Now, I am part of a diversified professional network with a common goal to improve the safety and health of others in various occupational industries,” she said.

She said the highlight of her experience so far has been the ability to participate in the Puerto Rico Resiliency focus group research.

“I was able to travel to Puerto Rico and hear first hand how the hospitality community was not only affected by hurricane Maria but also come together and prevail,” Escobar said.

Currently, the Sunshine ERC is supporting four COVID-19 research projects through its program development fund, according to Bernard, three at USF and one at UCF.

Bernard said that while the Sunshine ERC focuses on students within the ERC disciplines, they have started to also engage students and faculty interested in disaster management.

“If students have an interest they should contact me or Ms. Kelly Freedman and we will see if there is an opportunity with current projects,” he said. “We would welcome and support expenses for some students outside the ERC to participate in interdisciplinary activities.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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Three USF College of Public Health (COPH) students presented research abstracts at the Delta-Omega-sponsored Student Poster Session at the annual American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Meeting and Expo held in Atlanta in November.

Delta Omega is a national honorary society for public health students with more than 20,000 members. Each year, 29 students are selected to present their research during the Delta Omega Student Poster Session at the APHA’s annual meeting. While students do not need to be members of Delta Omega to compete, they must attend schools and programs with active chapters and be approved by the respective chapter to compete.

Doctoral student Rafaella Stein Elger presented research titled “Examining the sources, utilization and needs of support among caregivers of children with special health care needs in Florida.”

“This study showed that the main barriers to accessing services and resources are geography, families’ eligibility and the type of insurance families have,” Stein Elger said. “Our study also showed that caregivers need more support, and many times they’re navigating health care and education systems that are not collaborating. I think this study gives us an overview of what it means to be a caregiver for a child with special health care needs in Florida.”

Isabella Abbondanza, a senior BSPH student, presented her research titled “Experiences of Spanish-speaking participants in the Positive Parenting & Partnership (P3) Program.”

“Understanding if there are cultural differences between parenting styles can lead to more culturally appropriate material offered to parents who want to learn better parenting techniques,” Abbondanza explained. “Parents can have a huge impact on a child’s health outcomes in adulthood, and if we are able to understand cultural differences within parenting, we can better prepare parents of all backgrounds.”

Paula Hernandez, the third COPH Delta Omega presenter, shared her research on parental attitudes toward HPV vaccinations for adolescents.

“There are still many negative stigmas and misconceptions around sexual health that can impact health care decision-making and one’s health in general,” Hernandez, an MPH student, said. “Additionally, reproductive health is an integral part of women’s health and well-being, which makes it important to work toward creating equitable and effective care for all individuals.”

In addition to receiving a $500 monetary award, all the students said one of the most rewarding things about presenting was engaging with session participants.

“I was able to work on my public speaking skills while also being given a great platform to advocate for the HPV vaccine,” Hernandez said.

“My favorite part of presenting was engaging in meaningful conversations with people who also found this research important,” Abbondanza added. “Some people were interested because the research was related to their career field, and some people were interested because they come from different cultural backgrounds and felt like they could relate to the topic. I loved that I was able to practice my networking skills because good networking skills are valuable in any career field.” 

Story by Donna Campisano for USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health (COPH) master’s students concentrating in either healthcare administration or health care organizations and management recently had the opportunity to participate in an interprofessional education (IPE) event held in conjunction with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM).

The session was organized in November by the MCOM SELECT MD Program to teach medical students about the business of medicine. The SELECT MD Program prepares students to become physician leaders who accelerate change in health care.

After listening to remarks about the business of health care from COPH professor Dr. Zachary Pruitt, who is also an alum of the college, and Dr. Mark G. Mosely, president of USF Tampa General Physicians, attendees broke into groups to analyze a case study of a fictitious medical group considering adopting a value-based payment model for health care services. The COPH students guided the medical students on how the payment structure would impact their medical specialties and why. The case study was published by Drs. Pruitt and Moseley in the Journal of Health Administration Education.

The group-based IPE event enabled the COPH students to demonstrate the value of the health administration profession while also learning how to build collaborative relationships with health care providers.

“These discussions are relevant to the healthcare field today, and conversations are being had about applying these [payment] models in various measures,” Kathryn Sherman, a second-year Master of Health Administration (MHA) student who attended the event, said. “This event will help advance both careers in that it allows each student the opportunity to learn the priorities, goals and objectives of each profession. It also helps limit the negative light that is shed on the administrative profession as the medical community learns just how important it is to have someone there who can explain the inner workings of the organization.”

Sherman said participating in the event gave her real-world experience she can take with her in her career.

“Having participated in this event both as a first- and second-year MHA student, I can honestly say I have evolved as a leader, speaker and educator on all things related to healthcare management,” she said. “I was able to better inform my group of the advantages and disadvantages of each model while allowing them the autonomy of choosing what they believed would work best for their specialty. I would absolutely recommend this event for anyone in either program who wants to see how a health care management degree can be utilized in a real-world simulation, as this is a very real topic that is currently being discussed in the community today.”

Dr. Victor Weeden, the USF MHA Program Director, also helped to facilitate group discussions.

According to Weeden, the IPE event provides valuable experience for health administration students seeking to become healthcare leaders. More importantly, he said, interprofessional collaborations help benefit not just the participants, but health care as a whole.

“Even though the management and medical students’ educational backgrounds and goals are so different, the IPE event helps them understand that, in reality, their aim is the same—to improve health care value for patients,” Weeden said.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Food insecurity affects up to 50% of college students, with African American and Hispanic/Latino students experiencing it 1.5 times more often than their non-Hispanic White and Asian counterparts. That puts them at greater risk for not just health problems, but also depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, stress and poorer academic performance.

Researchers from the USF College of Public Health (COPH) along with colleagues from USF’s College of Education, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Department of Anthropology and other universities and organizations, studied food insecurity among racially and ethnically diverse college students and were surprised to find differences in the factors that limit their access to food.

Their research, “Multi-Level Determinants of Food Insecurity among Racially and Ethnically Diverse College Students,” was published in the journal Nutrients in September.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the predictors of food insecurity among a racially and ethnically diverse population of college students using a multi-dimensional model,” said Rashida Jones, PharmD, a COPH doctoral student concentrating in epidemiology and one of the coauthors of the study.

While the researchers expected to find the same predictors of food insecurity among all students of color, they instead discovered differences, particularly between non-Hispanic Black students and their Hispanic and non-Hispanic White peers. Pharm

For example, the single greatest predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students was experiencing major discrimination (for instance, being fired from a job unfairly or being stopped by law enforcement unjustly).

“The mechanism through which discrimination impacts food insecurity is intricate and closely linked to social and economic disadvantages, which are established drivers of food insecurity,” Jones said.

Conversely, things such as savings, body mass index (BMI) and food intake were the biggest predictors of food insecurity among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students.

“Students who employ multiple saving strategies or make many attempts to cut down on their food expenses might have higher BMIs because they are consuming less healthy, cost-effective foods,” Jones explained. “Additionally, these students are more likely to experience food insecurity, as they lack access to an adequate quantity or quality of food to meet their basic nutritional needs.”

Jones said that because discrimination was the sole predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students, a qualitative follow-up study examining more precisely the types of discrimination these students face should be conducted.

“Our findings can be used to inform the development of multi-component interventions aimed at reducing disparities in food insecurity,” Jones noted.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by snail-transmitted flatworms.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease—which can cause scarring and inflammation of the liver, intestines and bladder, leading to anemia, malnutrition and learning difficulties, particularly in children—affects some 200 million people worldwide.

The disease is most often seen in parts of Africa, South America, the Caribbean and Asia where people use contaminated freshwater for bathing, drinking and cooking.

“Infected humans pass eggs of the Schistosoma parasite in feces or urine, and in areas that do not have adequate sanitation, those eggs often find their way into local bodies of water,” explained USF College of Public Health doctoral student Caitlin Wolfe, who recently co-authored a study examining how removing vegetation that acts as a habitat for the snails can reduce rates of the disease.

“Once in the water, the microscopic eggs hatch into miracidia that infect the snails,” she added. “The parasites then grow and mature into their next life cycle phase, cercaria, in the snail. Infected snails release the cercaria into the water, and the cercaria swim through the water and infect humans when they use infested bodies of water.”

Wolfe and her coauthors, including the principal investigator Dr. Jason Rohr, a former USF professor of integrative biology who currently teaches at Notre Dame, published their study, “A planetary health innovation for disease, food and water challenges in Africa,” in July in the journal Nature.

Wolfe and her colleagues performed their research in Senegal, where 99% of host snails are captured in the freshwater plant Ceratophyllum demersum. Because of the region’s arid soil, fertilizer is often used on crops, and that fertilizer gets into the water supply during heavy rains and subsequent surface runoff.

“More fertilizer in the water leads to more plants and more algae, which leads to more snails, which leads to more schistosomiasis,” she said.

Wolfe and her study co-authors hypothesized that if they could remove vegetation from the waterways and then compost that vegetation to be used as animal feed (the vegetation is safe for the animals; worms need a human host do their damage), they could reduce rates of schistosomiasis and create better access to waterways while increasing food production.

And, it turns out, they were right.

In the villages where the floating vegetation was removed (by hand), schoolchildren had nearly a 1.5 times lower rate of schistosomiasis, waterways stayed clearer and the composted vegetation-turned-animal feed turned out to be 41 to 179 times cheaper than traditional feed. 

“Thankfully,” said Wolfe, who’s concentrating in global communicable disease, “the findings of this study supported the hypothesis! We’ve known that certain snail species have an affinity for specific plants in specific locations (in northern Senegal, it’s the floating vegetation called ceratophyllum), so the notion of removing the plants that these snails like to feed on is something that has been suggested and discussed previously. But this study was one of the first to demonstrate concrete evidence for this intervention. The hope is that because there are additional benefits beyond just reducing transmission of a parasitic disease—such as increased agricultural output when the vegetation is composted and used as animal feed—there will be enough buy-in at local levels to support this intervention.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their same-age heterosexual or cisgender peers, and experts say it’s not their sexual orientation or gender identity that ups their suicide risk but the isolation and stigma they feel because of discrimination against it.

Kelli Agrawal, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) PhD student, decided to look at a form of resilience known as communicative resilience and its ability to curb suicides among LGBTQ+ communities. Her research, “Assessing Communicative Resilience in Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ+ Communities: A Qualitative Analysis of Community Conversations,” was published in July in the American Journal of Health Promotion. Co-authors include the COPH’s Drs. Joe Bohn, Abraham Salinas-Miranda and others.

Communicative resilience relies on discourse and interaction to enable and promote resilience.

“It occurs when day-to-day communication enables people to adapt or transform through difficult times,” Agrawal said. “It doesn’t just happen in response to difficult times though, it is something we can experience in our day-to-day lives that can benefit us when we inevitably experience disruptions, challenges or crises.”

Agrawal, who has helped facilitate a COPH-initiated suicide prevention program called Growing Hope, said the idea to look at communicative resilience and its role in suicide prevention among the LGBTQ+ population was almost accidental.

“Upon initially reviewing the transcripts from community conversations [defined by Agrawal as problem-solving discourse among those interested in addressing a challenge in their community], I began to recognize processes of communication resilience described in the participants’ responses,” Agrawal noted. “At the time, the Growing Hope project had only facilitated one town hall on suicide prevention, and it was for the LGBTQ+ communities in Pinellas County. We had originally planned to only utilize open coding for the analysis, but the processes were identified so clearly (and repeatedly) that we decided to explore them further.”

Agrawal and her co-authors found that communicative resilience—which included identifying strengths, sharing stories of healing and offering strategies for hope—can be an effective suicide-prevention resource.

And while using communicative resilience in suicide prevention is under-utilized and under-studied, Agrawal hopes that will change.

“Public health needs to do more to address suicide with pro-active, strengths-based, community-level strategies,” Agrawal said. “Whether face-to-face, over the phone or virtually…we are in near-constant communication with others. I think there is power and hope in being able to recognize that there are strategies and actions we can all proactively take in our day-to-day lives that can help prevent suicide in our homes, schools, workplaces and communities. The key is recognizing them, knowing how to effectively engage in them and realizing that they can make a difference. It’s not about individual resilience, it’s about collective resilience. It’s about how we interact with one another day-to-day, how we show up in our communities and how our communities show up for us.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Rain Freeman, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) PhD student concentrating in epidemiology, recently presented research about the effects of red tide on preterm birth at the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) conference held in Chicago in August.

She conducted the research, “Florida Red Tides and Preterm Birth,” along with COPH professors Drs. Catherine Bulka and Jason Salemi, as well as USF College of Arts and Sciences student Quynh Anh Nguyen.

Freeman, whose interests lie in perinatal and pediatric health and life course epidemiology, said this is the first study to look at red tide and pregnancy outcomes in humans.

And its results were surprising.

“We had hypothesized that red tides would be associated with a higher risk of preterm birth,” Freeman explained. “We based this hypothesis on the environmental health literature regarding air pollution, which has consistently found a greater risk of preterm birth due to exposure to various air pollutants. We also know from animal studies that the toxins produced by red tide can cross the placental barrier and are toxic to developing embryos. Our hypothesis, however, was not supported by the null results of our analysis.”

A null result is a result without the expected outcome. Freeman says there could be several reasons for this unexpected discovery. For example. It’s possible, she said, that exposures to red tide during pregnancy are rare enough or not substantial enough to cause harm.

“Null results occur often in studies,” Freeman commented, “and they’re still important to report. For a few reasons, we believe that this topic needs more study.”

One reason is because the study used aggregated rather than individual-level data. “That is,” she said, “we cannot conclude that the same individuals experiencing higher red tide exposure are the same individuals who delivered their infants preterm.”

Secondly, she noted, the researchers based their exposure assessment on where pregnant people live in relation to the coastline when they gave birth. They did not account for factors such as how much time they spent outdoors, whether they had moved prior to giving birth and exactly how much algae were airborne. “We believe there is an urgent need to create more sophisticated measures of human exposure to red tide,” she said.

Freeman said she is working on turning the research into a manuscript that can be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

 “I’m very intrigued by the topic of red tide and pregnancy and the distinct lack of information on exposure,” Freeman said. “Red tide is known to be harmful in terms of acute gastrointestinal and respiratory health in humans, yet it’s extremely unexplored in terms of long-term health impacts across many health outcomes. As this area of research becomes more solid, I hope the data will help clinicians and families better understand whether red tide exposure poses a risk to their health.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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While most countries prohibit the modification of human embryos using technologies like mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) and human germline genome editing, scientists and policymakers are increasingly calling for more relaxed restrictions.

These technologies alter one’s germline (the cells that pass on genetic material), providing, proponents say, a way of eliminating deadly or disastrous genetic diseases. Opponents, however, say these techniques raise serious ethical questions and fail to address the fact there is often more to disease formation than genes alone.

Dr. Katherine Drabiak, a USF College of Public Health professor and expert on medical ethics, along with USF Morsani College of Medicine student Shoaib Khan, decided to examine how scientists and policymakers frame the benefits of these human germline modifications in order to sway public opinion and regulatory guidelines. Their paper, “Eight Strategies to Engineer Acceptance of Human Germline Modifications,” was published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry in July.

Drabiak has been writing about the scientific, legal and ethical aspects of technologies that modify human embryos to create babies for a while. She says she decided to tackle how rhetoric shapes the discussion surrounding these technologies when she observed stakeholders minimizing their risks.

“I noticed common similar rhetorical strategies relating to MRT and human germline genome editing, such as people promising these technologies are safe and will be highly effective, that they will create healthy babies and reduce risks of genetic disease, and we should embrace them to eliminate suffering. But I also noticed that many stakeholders were downplaying, or even ignoring, very serious risks. Part of the reason for this article was to show how public discussions and regulatory decision-making embraced the potential benefits but downplayed the risks.”

Drabiak says public relations strategies used to sway public opinion about these technologies aren’t so different from the ones corporate America used to sell cigarettes or Big Pharma used to sell addictive drugs.

“Public relations techniques manipulate the body of science that affects public opinion, people’s individual decision-making and regulations,” Drabiak stated. “When proponents use these techniques most effectively, they are invisible. We hear certain claims repeated so often, we believe they are true, and we think we are making our own choices that are in fact based on a skewed information landscape.”

Drabiak said she fears technology used to create synthetic human embryos will be the next victim of skewed marketing.

“Changing the germline (the genetics of future generations) impacts not only future children but raises larger questions for our entire species as humans,” Drabiak said. “Recognizing how these technologies [are sold to the public] can make the public more savvy consumers of information and help them understand how certain stakeholders are intentionally pushing their opinion in a certain direction. Edward Bernays, who began the PR field in the 1920s, said ‘The best PR leaves no fingerprints.’ I want to show those fingerprints and the motivation for pushing acceptance of these technologies.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health (COPH), delivered the college’s annual State of the College address in person to a packed Samuel P. Bell, III auditorium on Sept. 22.

This year’s presentation highlighted the college’s people, passion and potential. “Our people are the foundation of everything we do,” Petersen said, as she introduced the numerous new hires, promotions, new doctoral scholars and faculty, staff, student and alumni award winners.

“We recognize and thank all of these folks who not only enrich the college but also what we do collectively as USF Health to improve lives and create opportunities for our students and teams to learn and grow professionally,” Petersen said.

One who received special recognition was Dr. Karen Liller, a Distinguished University Health Professor, who was presented with the Cliff Blair Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, named for the late COPH professor Cliff Blair who famously made difficult subjects easy to understand and who received the student’s teaching award seven times, is given to instructors who, according to the award’s website, “reach deep within and far beyond to provide extraordinary learning moments for students.”

“This award is so meaningful to me,” Liller said as she accepted the award. “I knew Cliff for many years. He always had time for you and was so approachable and funny. He was an amazing individual and I can’t thank you enough.”

Petersen then moved into highlighting the college’s passion—which is educating students and serving the community. Some statistics of note:

• The fall 2023 incoming class is comprised of 466 undergraduate students, 220 master’s students ​and 30 doctoral students​.
• Since May 2022, the college graduated 1,492 bachelor students,​ 314 master’s students​ and 36 doctoral students​.
• During the 2022-2023 academic year, the college’s faculty taught 83,254 student contact hours, up 2.5% over the prior year.
• A team, which included two COPH MHA students, took home second place in the CLARION Case Competition, a national competition that promotes the development of interprofessional relationships among health professional students.
• Two health sciences majors were recently elected USF Student Government president and vice president.
• One student who recently graduated summa cum laude was named a UG Golden Bull and was a Phi Beta Kappa inductee.

“Our faculty amazes me every year,” Petersen said. “Every year you teach more and more and more. And we can’t thank you enough. You help ensure the future of our field.”

Petersen went on to make note of the college’s main initiatives in 2022, including new curriculum collaborations with other areas of USF Health, such as the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Taneja College of Pharmacy; instituting one-credit graduate courses; new graduate student boot camps that focus on things like writing and professionalism; the start of the Disease Intervention Specialist Training Academy (DISTA) and the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice and its inaugural PHEARLESS cohort, devoted to workforce development.

She also elaborated on the strides of the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, which now has 100% participation for all the maternity hospitals in the state; the achievements of the Center for Global Health and Inter-Disciplinary Research, which has active grants totaling $49.9 million;  the genomics program, which recently enrolled its largest MSPH class; and other programs like the COPH Lifelong Learning Academy, which awarded approximately 2,046 CPH and CHES credits in 2022-2023.

Finally, Petersen talked about the college’s potential, “where we are, where we’re going and what we want to do,” she said. And because potential takes funding, she also gave an overview of the college’s budget and grants and outlined some of the important work students and faculty are doing in the research realm.

“We are doing incredible work that is increasingly recognized by different groups locally and around the country,” Petersen commented. “We had 120 research proposals submitted last year. That’s an enormous increase over the prior year. And our active awards are up to an all-time high, from $19.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $34.98 million in 2023.”

Petersen ended her address looking to the future, making mention of a variety of events to take place and acknowledging and thanking everyone involved in the college for their support and work.

She recounted a story she heard about a man living in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. His dream, Petersen said, was to open a grocery store, because every time he saw someone carrying groceries on a bus, he knew it was likely the third bus they’d been carrying the groceries on as there were no nearby food marts.

“He said, ‘You know, they say you only live once. But that’s not the truth. You only die once, but you live every day. And every day that you live, you have to do something impactful. Have a few kids, get a job, pay your bills, grow old and die—that’s not why you’re here. My purpose is easy. It’s to serve.’ So, every day,” Petersen added, “do something that matters. Be kind. Be helpful. Because that’s what we’re about.”

To view the entire address, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The USF College of Public Health is saying farewell to one of its esteemed faculty members, Dr. William Sappenfield, a USF Distinguished Professor and director of the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC) and the Chiles Center, both housed within the college and dedicated to cutting-edge research and education promoting the health and well-being of women, children and families.

Sappenfield, a pediatrician and epidemiologist who focuses on maternal and child health, retires after serving the college for 12 years. “That’s the longest I’ve been anywhere in my career,” he noted.

Sappenfield says what he’ll miss most about his time at the COPH is the people—the students, faculty, staff and leaders. “I have had the chance to work with outstanding people,” he noted.

And they will undoubtedly miss him as well.

“It was both an honor and a privilege to work with Bill,” said Bobbi Rose, an alum of the college who also served as conference coordinator for USF Health. “He is, WITHOUT FAIL, supportive, super smart, available, ethical and caring—for his colleagues, staff, students and the community at large. We need more Bill Sappenfields in this world!”

Amy Phillips, doctoral student and alum of the college, echoes those sentiments.

“As a new master’s student in 2013, I remember meeting one-on-one with Dr. Sappenfield and he insisted I call him Bill—never Dr. Sappenfield (to this day, I still don’t know that I ever have, lol),” Phillips, currently a COPH doctoral student, recalled. “He also shared his journey to leadership with my Maternal and Child Health Leadership Scholar cohort. I am grateful for the opportunity to know and learn from him!”

Natalie Preston, director of the college’s Office of Engagement and Constituent Relations, also values the knowledge she gleaned from Sappenfield.

“I appreciate that Bill always made me feel like we were equals,” Preston said. “He was very approachable and personal. My son was quite sickly as a toddler and elementary school kid. I reached out to Bill on many occasions for his medical insight as a pediatrician. He always received me warmly and explained options in a manner that was easily understood by a non-medical professional. His demeanor is as warm and bright as his smile! Without question, I will miss him. Hopefully his best life is coming in retirement!”

Sappenfield said some of the highlights of his time at the college have been becoming a faculty member, impacting lives and careers via teaching and mentoring, leading, promoting and revitalizing the Chiles Center and fully developing the FPQC, a group that significantly impacts the health and health care of mothers and infants in Florida.

What’s next for Sappenfield as he heads off into retirement?

“Deciding what I want to do when I grow up,” he said. “That’s going to take me some time to figure out! The college has paid me to do what I so much enjoy doing.”

Here, a pictorial look back at Sappenfield’s 12 years with the college:

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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