On Oct. 21, Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health (COPH), gave her 16th State of the College Address virtually to faculty, staff and administration through Microsoft Teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am delighted to welcome you virtually to our State of the College Address,” Petersen said. “As always, we use this opportunity to highlight our college and people and to recognize those who have had particular achievements, welcome new faces and wrap up with a look-ahead.”

Year in Review

While the year was disrupted many times due to COVID-19, the COPH was able to prevail and still celebrate many successes. Some of these included:

• Holding the Inaugural Run Family Violence Out of Tampa 5k, sponsored by the Harrell Center
• Naming the first recipient of the Alena Frey scholarship
• Celebrating the Chiles Center 25th anniversary
• Offering USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center training in Spanish
• Launching Salud Latina USF to combat health misinformation in Spanish
• Welcoming students to the Bulls in Health Living Learning Community

Preparing Anti-Racist Public Health Professionals

“Last year I had mentioned that we had taken very seriously the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the response afterward,” Petersen said. “When you think about the social/moral determinants of health, you think about the historic racism that created the structure of many of our systems. This needs to be acknowledged, spoken about and acted upon.”

The COPH is “beginning at the beginning” with these new changes to combat racism and will continue to make the necessary changes. Some of these changes include:

• Eliminating the GRE requirement for admission
• Assigning summer reading and a reflection paper
  • 433 students learned something, were saddened, shocked, embarrassed, disgusted but also motivated, inspired and called to act
  • 1st assignment: identify a racist policy
  • 2nd assignment: identify a racist element in health care
  • Final exam: identify something “unacceptable” that must be changed

Our People

Emphasizing that people are at the center of public health, Petersen led her presentation with the introduction of new faculty and staff. She also recognized those who have received awards or been acknowledged for achievements. In the last year the college:

• Welcomed 27 new faculty and staff and saw nine faculty promotions
• Had two COPH staffers recognized with the USF Health Student Award Outstanding Shared Student Services Member and Provost’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Advising
• Applauded 12 faculty members who received awards and recognitions, both within the college and outside of it
• Saw Dr. Anna Armstrong, associate professor, and Laura Rusnak, instructor II, awarded the Cliff Blair Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Honored Dr. Joe Bohn, assistant professor, director of community engagement and deputy director of the DrPH program, with the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award.
• Celebrated Florida Covering Kids & Families (FCKF) and Jodi Ray, instructor II and program director of FCKF, for receiving the largest federal grant ever awarded to this program.

Looking Ahead

“The world will never be as it once was. We will continue to work remotely, teach in different ways and engage differently. But culture is very important, and we will continue to cultivate a culture of mutual respect, honesty, transparency and commitment to our vision, mission and goals,” Petersen said. Coming up, the college will:

• Celebrate the COPH’s new normal with the Day of Renewal and Length of Service celebrations on Dec. 14
• Address loose ends with the structure at an all-college meeting
• Have an all-college retreat on the Academic Master Plan with partners, alumni, employees and students
• Launch an abbreviated strategic planning exercise

Link to view the full USF College of Public Health State of the College Address coming soon.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health