It is the largest percentage surge for any baccalaureate degree at UofL this year. The also is experiencing a 19.5% rise in the number of students seeking graduate education.

And, the growth is happening not only at UofL. Data on academic public health admissions from the baccalaureate degree annual data, along with a public health education enrollment database known as SOPHAS, show a 20% uptick in applications over the same time last year.

Craig Blakely, dean of the school, says with public health officials in the daily news, more people are seeing firsthand the importance of the work related to preventing, detecting and responding to viral outbreaks.  

“The vast majority of the population is starting to see the wisdom of investing in public health infrastructure. I think there’s no question of an expansion in opportunity for our students on the horizon,” he said.

Now in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blakely says some students are choosing the discipline because they feel a calling to make a difference. 

Maymie Owens will graduate in December with a bachelor of science in public health.

“I love everything about public health because it covers all areas of life and can help make changes in your own city, state or even globally,” she said. “You will look at your own life and the lives of those around you differently, in a way that I don’t think any other major could give or show you.” 

Locally, UofL students have been a part of the effort to combat COVID-19 as contact tracers where they make phone calls to positive cases and close contacts, providing education and information on up-to-date isolation safety measures and guidelines.

“Our students are gaining incredible experience for their future public health careers. This work is a resume builder for the students, some of whom earn practicum or capstone experience credit,” Blakely said. “More importantly, it is crucial to helping our community fight COVID-19.”

Dr. Sarah Moyer is the director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and the chief health strategist for the city of Louisville. She’s also an assistant professor of Health Management and Systems Sciences in UofL’s School of Public Health & Information Sciences.

Though the novel coronavirus pandemic is certainly on a different level than what she — or anyone in her field — is used to, Moyer is no stranger to leading the charge to affect better health outcomes for the city of Louisville. who works with all sectors of the community to affect policy, systems and environmental changes. She spearheaded the creation of Louisville’s successful syringe exchange program in 2015, for example, to slow the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C cases in the state.

During the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this month, about Moyer and her work as it pertains to this specific crisis. In that story, SPHIS Dean Craig Blakely praised her ability to “adapt to public health situations.”

“In these settings, like what’s happening now, quick movement is essential to being successful,” he said. “It’s the same as Ebola – some lost the war, others did really well. It has to do with quick responses.”

Moyer told the publication that she is learning what is working in other places and applying it to the COVID-19 response in Louisville.

“I have faults, but adaptability and solving complex problems are on my strength list,” she told the CJ. “When you’re a mom of four kids, you’ve got to be able to adapt, no matter what comes your way.”

Prior to joining UofL in 2015, Moyer earned degrees from Temple, Wake Forest, Dartmouth and Colorado College.

The board appointed Brad Shafer vice president for university advancement. Shafer, who holds a juris doctorate from Creighton University School of Law, has served as interim vice president since summer 2018.

The board also formalized the appointment of Rehan Khan as vice provost and chief information officer. Khan earned his MBA at Rivier University.

The board also approved the appointment of Teresa Reed as dean of the School of Music and the continuations of Toni Ganzel and Craig Blakely as deans of the schools of Medicine and of Public Health and Information Sciences, respectively.

Reed, who holds a PhD from Indiana University, previously served as associate dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa.

Ganzel has served in several roles since arriving at the UofL Division of Otolaryngology in 1983. She has served as dean since 2013. Blakely served as dean, School of Rural Public Health, at the Texas A&M Health Science Center before taking the reins at UofL in 2013.

In other action, the board heard a presentation on UofL’s finances, which included a recommendation that UofL increase tuition by 2.5% for the 2019-20 year. The board also heard a brief presentation on a new internship program that will provide opportunities for 40 UofL students to work with the executive branch of state government, with intent to grow the program to more than 200 in coming years. UofL already has a highly successful internship program with the General Assembly.

Also at the meeting, the board:

• Approved creation of a certificate in distilled business spirits (see ).
• Approved creation of the Center for Archeology and Cultural Heritage (CACHe). Located in the new UofL Fine Arts Institute on Rowan Street, the CACHe will serve as home to archaeology labs and collections and participating Anthropology Department faculty.
• Approved the naming of the softball field at Ulmer Stadium after Don Dobina. A former Cardinal football player and well-known supporter of UofL softball, Dobina was president and CEO of MPC Promotions. He also was founder and president of the nationally recognized Louisville Lady Sluggers Softball Club.
• Approved renaming Cardinal Arena to L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. Cardinal Arena houses the offices, training and competition facilities for the Cardinals’ volleyball team. L&N recently donated $2 million to the athletic department, in addition to previous donations of $160,000.

“Our school is committed to offering relevant academic programs to better the health of all people, and this new degree will help grow and keep talented leaders in the health services sector,” said Craig Blakely, PhD, MPH, dean, School of Public Health and Information Sciences. “This program also builds perfectly on the recently funded National Science Foundation Center for Health Organization Transformation — many students in the MSHA program will also be engaged in real-time research occurring with local health delivery system partners who may eventually become their employers.”

The Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences designed the MSHA to deepen knowledge of environments, processes, structures and strategies in health care. Students will learn about broad principles and key influences of leading health care organizations. They’ll also examine evidence-based frameworks for strategic leadership and effective management of health care organizations. An analysis of policies that influence population and community health care management also will be part of the curriculum.

“We are continually working to make the University of Louisville a nationally recognized destination for health management and health policy education and research,” said Chris E. Johnson, PhD, chair, Department of Health Management and System Sciences. “Our dedication to population health management, evidenced-based decision making, and disseminating real-time solutions for our health care industry partners makes UofL a great place to study our health care system.”

The MSHA program uses UofL’s , a modified version of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) . Students can expect to complete the 56-credit-hour program in two years. The MSHA is accepting applications for its evening program, with classes beginning at 4 p.m. Once the evening track is underway, the school plans to develop an executive MSHA track to accommodate seasoned health care leaders.

The MSHA is in candidacy status with the (CAHME), the accrediting body for graduate programs in health management in the United States. The school’s initial accreditation site visit for CAHME is this fall.