School of Public Health Strategic Plan 2023-2027

Strategy 1: Prepare diverse public health professionals through high-quality instruction to address the health needs of all people, including those of historically underserved or vulnerable populations.

Objectives:

• Engage in continuous quality improvement through evaluation of student and alumni competency.
• Increase opportunities for teaching professional development and faculty mentoring.
• Increase utilization of workforce readiness data through revision of evaluations and surveys.
• Develop a system to assess and ensure coverage of DEI concepts across the curriculum to advance students' knowledge of anti-racism and social justice.

Strategy 2: Increase equitable access, retention and opportunity while improving the overall student experience.

Objectives:

• Increase the number of events and partnerships with organizations (e.g., DFS, TRIO, Upward Bound, etc.) to result and retain a student population reflective of Nevada.
• Increase the number of participants in peer-to-peer mentor programs at undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Improve student satisfaction with advising/career
• Increase the number of scholarships and assistantships and ensure equitable distribution to recruit and retain a diverse student population. 

Strategy 1: Create an environment that energizes students, faculty and staff, and keeps them performing at their best.

Objectives:

• Improve employee and student satisfaction using existing resources and promote a feeling of being valued.
• Improve mechanisms for rewarding excellence that align with the School of Public Health's mission.
• Increase the number of and participation in professional/pre-professional career-interest groups among students.
• Improve communication systems for both faculty and students.

Strategy 2: Establish the School of Public Health as a highly effective and sustainable organization by improving its operating infrastructure.

Objectives:

• Grow infrastructure capacity including:
  • Improve the physical environment including productive spaces such as computer labs, lounges, etc.
  • Create a sustainable donor pool with increased donations year over
  • Improve policy, procedure and overall operations of support

Strategy 3: Become a career destination for diverse public health faculty and staff.

Objectives:

• Develop a formalized communication channel for faculty and staff to provide feedback to the School of Public Health leadership for identifying strengths, improving engagement, and celebrating successes.
• Strengthen methods to recruit, retain and promote diverse faculty and staff.
• Enhance resources for faculty and staff, especially for new faculty and staff members.
• Promote cultural diversity within the school by hosting and celebrating.

Strategy 1: Increase the visibility of our school and amplify achievements.

Objectives:

• Increase the quantity and quality of faculty research and scholarly products.
• Translate and disseminate research and scholarly products to (a) the public and (b) future students and trainees by engaging various dissemination channels including the press and social media.
• Increase participation in and/or testimony for local/national/international task forces, national/international advisory committees, legislative sessions and external grant reviews.
• Increase participation in the School of Public Health Alumni Chapter, mobilize chapter board members to advance the School’s mission and amplify alumni achievements.

Strategy 2: Engage in collaborative research to integrate SPH faculty members' expertise with local, national and global health efforts.

Objectives:

• Invest in faculty and infrastructure to strengthen extramural research grant competitiveness.
• Increase collaboration of student/trainees and faculty across local, national and global arenas (including task forces and advisory committees), especially in emerging public health issues.
• Increase utilization of the centers, institutes and labs within the School of Public Health to strenghten collaborations, leverage resources and ensure that research efforts are relevant to the changing needs of the field. 
• Develop a critical mass of expertise and establish brand identity in focus areas/research clusters where the school has existing strengths or has established needs.

Strategy 1: Establish communication systems and resources for the School of Public Health to help bolster community impact around public health issues.

Objective:

• Develop formalized communication channels to:
  • Streamline the process for community members to provide feedback and identify opportunities for improvement. 
  • Share the school's expertise, services, events and achievements on social
• Develop a system to share engagement metrics with school leadership including:
  • The number of people engaging with internal and external 
  • Website traffic on pages with school
• Develop and maintain a resources tab on the School of Public Health website with a mechanism to request assistance in the school's areas of expertise and services.

Strategy 2: Build and expand relationships to become the primary resource for local, county and state agencies and organizations.

Objectives:

• Strengthen partnerships with local, county and state agencies/organizations
• Provide technical assistance and training to the public through media, presentations and other avenues.
• Build a standardized system for tracking workforce development trainings provided by the school (including centers) to community agencies and organizations particularly related to health equity.
• Strengthen partnerships between academic programs and centers. 

Strategy 3: Promote student and faculty participation in service activities, particularly in the state of Nevada.

Objectives:

• Increase the number of courses with service-learning activities, especially service-learning activities that advance health equity.
• Increase the number of and access to volunteering opportunities and engagement through student organizations.
• Identify and share potential service opportunities with faculty, staff and students.