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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.ukbrought to you byCOREprovided by UNF Digital CommonsFlorida Public Health ReviewVolume 2Article 17July 2005University of South Florida College of PublicHealth: Reflections on Doctoral Education 1987 2005Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/fphrPart of the Public Health Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences CommonsRecommended Citation(2005) "University of South Florida College of Public Health: Reflections on Doctoral Education 1987 - 2005," Florida Public HealthReview: Vol. 2 , Article 17.Available at: is Article is brought to you for free and open access by the BrooksCollege of Health at UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Florida Public Health Review by an authorized administratorof UNF Digital Commons. For more information, please contact DigitalProjects. July 2005 All Rights Reserved

et al.: University of South Florida College of Public Health: ReflectionsUniversity of South Florida College of Public Health:Reflections on Doctoral Education 1987 - 2005Karen M. (Kay) Perrin, PhDRobert J. McDermott, PhDAbstractThe establishment of doctoral training is a milestone in the chronological and intellectual development of anacademic institution. The University of South Florida College of Public Health (COPH) admitted its first doctoralstudent in the fall of 1987 and graduated its first two in 1992. The USF COPH will top the century mark in PhDgraduates in 2005. This article summarizes the history of doctoral education at the USF COPH and provideshighlights of a few of the nearly 100 PhD graduates now making a mark on improvement of public health research,education, and practice – in Florida, and elsewhere.Florida Public Health Review, 2005; 2: 92-95BackgroundThe University of South Florida College ofPublic Health (USF COPH) was established in July1984 with an initial enrollment of 100 students. Untilcompletion of its current building in December 1991,its residence was in a vacant section of the FloridaMental Health Institute. Today, the USF COPHhouses an auditorium, multi-purpose classrooms withstate-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, a distanceeducation studio, computer classrooms, 17laboratories, and in addition to its largeadministrative and student support staff, more than91 faculty members who provide education, researchand service that impacts local, state, national andglobal public health. Since its inception, the USFCOPH has graduated 1,975 students and has a currentenrollment of approximately 495 students in MPH,MSPH, or MHA programs (some jointly with otherdegree programs on the USF campus), and 91 fulltime and part-time doctoral students seeking the PhDdegree. The USF COPH is fully accredited by theCouncil on Education in Public Health (CEPH), anindependent agency that is recognized by the U.S.Department of Education as the primary accreditingbody for schools and colleges of public health. TheCOPH was recently re-accredited in June 2004 fortheseven-yearmaximumpermittedbyreaccredidation cycles. Today there are five academicdepartments in the USF COPH: The Department of Community and FamilyHealth, whose activities seek improvement ofthe health status of the family through aninterdisciplinary approach of preventive,curative and rehabilitative health care nsothatpublichealthresponsibilities can be carried out in thecontext of diverse settings. The Department of Environmental andOccupational Health, whose offerings includeteaching and research in the areas ofenvironmental health, industrial hygiene,Florida Public Health Review, 2005; 2: 92-95http://publichealth.usf.edu/fphrPublished by UNF Digital Commons, 2005safetymanagement,toxicology,andoccupational health. The Department of Epidemiology andBiostatistics, whose students come frombackgrounds in the medical, biological, social,and quantitative sciences, and are prepared forcareers in the discovery and interpretation ofthe person, place, and time factors thatinfluence disease causation and levels ofhealth status. The Department of Health Policy andManagement, whose students are prepared forcareers in Health Organizations andManagement, Health Policies and Programs,and International Health Management,including skill development for all aspects oforganization, financing and delivery of healthservices. The Department of Global Health, wherestudents interested in global health challengesand the emerging infectious diseasesworldwide are trained for work that may takethem across national borders.Doctoral Graduates of the USF COPH (1992present)The USF COPH offers the PhD degree, adegree historically known for its rigorous focus onresearch and quantitative and qualitative sciences.Beginning with 1992, a total of 99 students havereceived their doctoral degrees from the USF COPH.The first PhD student was admitted to the USFCOPH in 1987 (Susan W. Goodrich); the firstdoctoral student graduates were in 1992 (Jane P.Carver and Eileen M. Emery-Filizof); and the peakyear for PhD graduates was 2003 with 13 graduates(Table 1 and Table 2).921

Florida Public Health Review, Vol. 2 [2005], Art. 17Table 1. Distribution of PhD Graduates by Year14Table 3. Top Six Residential Locations of PhDGraduates60401220100FL8MDTXGANCVATop 6 99319920# of studentsTable 2.Number of PhD Graduates byDepartment 1992-present403020100CFHEOHEPIHPMApproximately 56 PhD of the 99 USFCOPH PhD program graduates still live and work inFlorida, with 32 residing in the Tampa / St.Petersburg area. Table 2 shows the top six stateswhere USF COPH doctoral graduates now reside.Other PhD graduates of the USF COPH are involvedin public health endeavors in Alabama, Alaska,California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine,Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico,New York, Ohio, Washington, and West Virginiaplus Puerto Rico (Table 3).Florida Public Health Review, 2005; 2: alcommons.unf.edu/fphr/vol2/iss1/17The USF COPH PhD graduates areemployed in a variety of settings across the UnitedStates and its territories. Several graduates areemployed by the federal government, including theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention and otherelements of the U.S. Public Health Service. Othershave accepted faculty positions at universities, fromthe University of Alaska-Anchorage, to theUniversity of Puerto Rico, and institutions of highlearning in numerous other states. Four graduates areemployed at Florida universities, not including theadditional18 who are employed by a college or centerat the University of South Florida. Their positionsinclude the following working titles: post-doc fellow,director, research assistant professor, researchassociate professor, and the full range of adjunct andtenure-earning faculty. Six are employed as full-timefaculty members at the USF COPH.Profiles of Selected PhD GraduatesWhereas it is not feasible to profile everyUSF COPH doctoral graduate, the followingexamples illustrate the diversity of the PhD graduatessince the inception of the program.Roy Beck, MD, PhD, completed hisdoctorate in 1993 from the Department ofEpidemiology and Biostatistics. He is the founder ofthe Jaeb Center for Health Research, located near theUSF campus in North Tampa. Currently, he has sixprojects funded by the National Institutes of Health:(1) Longitudinal Optic Neuritis Study; (2) PediatricEye Disease Investigator Group; (3) Cornea DonorStudy; (4) Diabetes in Children Research Network;(5) Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network;and (6) Web-Based Methods Resource Center forEye Disease Trials. On his curriculum vitae, Dr.Beck lists 155 publications in peer-reviewed journalsrelated to his valuable work on optic neuritis andnumerous other ophthalmic conditions.Danice K. Stone Eaton, PhD, graduated in2002 from the Department of Community and FamilyHealth, and currently serves as a Senior ResearchScientist at the Centers for Disease Control and932