Dean’s message 2023
Reflections from my first year at PHHP
From the Dean
Beth A. Virnig, Ph.D., M.P.H.
This past summer, I celebrated one year as dean of the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. And what a year it has been! I continue to be amazed at the talent and commitment of our faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends.
One thing I’ve come to realize in getting to know this college is that while we represent a great diversity of disciplines, we all share a common focus on prevention. The classic model of prevention looks at health promotion from three different applications along a continuum, which is perfectly illustrated at the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
At the model’s primary level, the focus is on the prevention of problems before they occur. Research and clinical efforts by our neuropsychologists in the department of clinical and health psychology to prevent older adults from developing dementia is an excellent example of primary prevention.
Work at the secondary prevention level is aimed at early detection and intervention. This may include hearing loss screenings by our faculty and students in the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences for patients who have recovered from COVID-19.
Or, UF SmartDriver Rehab, a service offered by the department of occupational therapy that provides evaluations and interventions to improve driving skills of older adults and drivers of all ages who have medical conditions that may affect driving.
The tertiary prevention level seeks to correct and prevent the deterioration of a disease state. Examples include stroke rehabilitation approaches developed by scientists in the department of physical therapy or interventions by faculty in the department of epidemiology to promote healthy behaviors and limit substance misuse among people living with HIV.
In this issue of PHHP Impact you’ll learn more about how our faculty, staff and students are improving health at all levels of the prevention model. I’d also like to share a few pride points from an exceptional year at the college:
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Since 2021, the college has graduated more than 2,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Students in our bachelor’s degree programs have a greater than 98% four-year graduation rate.
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New graduates completing board certification exams have a more than 94% first-time pass rate.
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PHHP students operate three equal access clinics providing free psychological, occupational therapy and physical therapy services for medically underserved members of the community.
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New research awards at the college rose 23% to $54.8 million, spread across all the college departments. For more on this milestone, see the story in this issue.
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The college is home to six federally funded training grants that prepare trainees for careers in research. The number of these grants puts us on par with Columbia University, the University of Michigan and the University of Washington.
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We rank in the Top 10 in National Institutes of Health funding among schools of public health at public universities, placing us in league with institutions like UCLA and UC Berkeley.
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Artificial intelligence has a strong and growing presence at the college, with a new and innovative certificate program available to undergraduate students and more than 20 faculty members whose work has an AI focus.
These accomplishments, and more, demonstrate our commitment to our four-part mission of education, research, service and clinical endeavors. I am very proud of the achievements of our PHHP community and I am excited to watch us build upon these successes!
Thank you for your support of our college. Go Gators!
