HSPH Professor Nancy Kane and HSPH Senior Lecturer Nancy Turnbull have been jointly appointed as associate deans for educational programs, effective January 1. The newly created positions build and expand on the role of the Office of Professional Education, currently headed by Richard Monson, who will be stepping down as associate dean for professional education.
The newly associated deans will have broad responsibility for planning and oversight of the School's educational programs, explained James Ware, Dean for Academic Affairs. Their responsibilities will include innovation in educational programs, increased emphasis on active learning, and leadership of the School's accreditation review during the 2008-2009 academic year.
"I could not be more pleased that Nancy Kane and Nancy Turnbull have agreed to lead this next era in the School's educational programming. They are proven innovators and leaders in public health education with stellar records in teaching and mentoring," said Dean Ware. "I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Richard Monson for his outstanding leadership of the Office for Professional Education and of the MPH program these past eight years."
Dean Ware continued, "My own teaching experiences have persuaded me that we can do more to improve the learning experiences of our students, in part through increasing the emphasis on active learning in the classroom. Nancy Kane and Nancy Turnbull have excelled as teachers and program leaders and will approach their new roles with both expertise and enthusiasm."
Kane and Turnbull will develop and execute a long-term plan focused on the coordination, integration, and improvement of the School's professional and academic educational programs. They will seek to increase the coherence and relevance of curricula, including both content and innovation in program format and delivery. For example, the School is looking toward increasing the emphasis on case-based learning across the curriculum.
HSPH recently began its self-study in preparation for reaccreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health. Kane and Turnbull will serve as the School's liaison with the Council, as well as with the Association of Schools of Public Health, which has led recent discussions about core and cross-cutting competencies in public health.
The deans will also represent HSPH in national discussions of credentialing, competencies, and other issues in public health education. This work takes on particular importance after the release of the Institute of Medicine report, Who Will Keep the Public Healthy: Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century. Published in 2002, the report identified eight emerging and significant content areas, in addition to traditional core areas such as biostatistics and epidemiology. The emerging areas include: informatics, genomics, communication, cultural competence, community-based participatory research, global health, policy and law, and public health ethics.
Kane and Turnbull will also work to enhance advising and mentoring networks of students, alumni, and employers.
They will develop and coordinate interfaculty educational programs within Harvard, and oversee the direction of the master of public health program, coordination of department-based professional degree programs, and administration of the School's summer session.
Kane is professor of management in the Department of Health Policy and Management. She initiated, designed, and directs the renowned master's degree program in health care management at HSPH, which combines the case-based teaching method with extensive peer collaboration and which targets mid-career physician executives in health care organizations. She previously led the health care management concentration in the MPH program. This past June, she received the Roger L. Nichols Excellence in Teaching Award at HSPH.
"HSPH attracts talented, highly motivated students, many of whom seek a public health education after already obtaining an M.D., J.D., or other graduate degree," said Kane. "They want to make the world a better place; it is our School's mission to provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. As public health needs increase in scope and complexity, so do the educational needs of our students. The position of Associate Dean for Educational Programs will allow Nancy Turnbull and me to work with our outstanding faculty and students to ensure a public health education that is relevant to the demands of the 21st century."
Turnbull is senior lecturer in health policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Before accepting the associate dean position, she served as president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, one of the largest health philanthropies in the state. Previously, at the School, she served as chair of the Committee on Educational Policy, as director of student advising and mentoring at HSPH, and as director of educational programs in the Department of Health Policy and Management. She was one of the first recipients of the HSPH student mentoring award, in 1999.
David Hemenway, professor of health policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management, chaired the search committee, which reviewed candidates from around the nation. Observed Hemenway, "Here are two outstanding professionals who know the realm of public health, the School, and the students. They have been remarkably successful in their teaching and their vision of public health education, and I am personally delighted that they will be applying those skills in this new role."
Copyright, 2009, President and Fellows of Harvard College
