UCLA School of Public Health - Home | Jonathan and Karin Fielding

UCLA School of Public Health

Strategic Plan

UC

LA

S c h o o l o f

P u b l i cH e a l t h

Strategic Plan.FINAL 2/26/02 1:22 PM Page 2

UCLA School of Public Health

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The UCLA School of Public Health was established in 1961.

The School enters its 5th decade in a strong position with 200

faculty members (70 full-time), 600 students (400 masters level

and 200 doctoral level), and 200 staff. Students receive state-of-the

art public health training from distinguished experts in the field

of public health combined with practical, hands-on experience.

The School’s classrooms and laboratories are under the same

roof as UCLA’s world-renowned hospital and medical, dental, and

nursing schools, and just steps away from the University’s social

and physical science facilities and the schools of engineering, law,

management, and public policy.

The School is also enriched by its location in Los Angeles,

where a melting pot of cultures, industries, and urban issues

provides unparalleled opportunities for research, teaching and

service. The School’s Southern California location also provides

students and faculty with a unique opportunity to be involved

with cutting edge health care issues as many of the health

system changes currently sweeping the country have origins

in Southern California.


The UCLA School of Public Health has achieved much success

over the last forty years as an independent accredited school of

public health (from 1946 to 1961 UCLA was part of a University

of California system-wide School of Public Health). The challenge

for the School is not only to maintain its nationally and inter-

nationally recognized stature, but to advance to even higher

levels of success. In order to facilitate this advancement, I initiated

a strategic planning process in the spring of 2001, shortly after

joining the School as the new dean, recognizing that a strategic

plan would be a vital tool in charting the future direction

of the School.

The planning process, while critical for defining the future

of the School of Public Health, is also increasingly important

for the entire UCLA campus. Budgeting is increasingly dependent

on strategic planning. UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale

emphasized the importance of serious strategic planning to the

campus in a July 2001 letter in which he stated, “Now that the

University’s near-term financial outlook appears less bright,

strategic planning takes on even greater importance.” For these

reasons and more, I am excited to have captured new directions

and momentum in this strategic plan.

Linda Rosenstock, MD, MPHDean

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Rationale


Strategic Planning ProcessTwo questions were distributed to all faculty, staff, and students

at the outset of the process: What makes the UCLA School of Public

Health unique? What are the top areas for growth? In addition to

these and other specific requests for input, the opportunity for

comment on the process or content of the strategic plan was

available throughout the development of the plan via the School

of Public Health Web site. From the input received through these

various mechanisms, a framework of a plan was developed which

became the basis for discussion at a series of meetings of staff,

students, and faculty. The School’s Evaluation Committee and the

Faculty Executive Committee also provided input. Based on these

meetings, a “first draft” of the strategic plan was formed. This

version was posted on the web for further comment from internal

and external audiences. Additionally, two community meetings

were held in August 2001 to receive input from the School’s

community partners and input was sought at a series of meetings

of professional organizations. The final plan was truly shaped

by broad input and support from internal and external audiences.

A list of contributors is provided on page 19.

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VISION:

MISSION:

STRATEGIC GOALS:The following strategic goals support the School’s Vision and Mission

1. Advance the mission of the School through achieving excellence in our three core functions:research, education, and service.

2. Establish new and strengthen existing collaborativepartnerships with a major focus on working with communities to improve health in greater Los Angeles.

3. Enhance the School’s contributions and visibility in global health.

4. Increase the School’s visibility and impact on publichealth issues, including health policy development.

5. Build the School’s infrastructure to support and facilitate expanded research, education and service initiatives.

The Mission of the UCLA School of Public Health is to enhance the public’s health by conducting innovativeresearch, training future leaders and health professionalsfrom diverse backgrounds, translating research into policyand practice, and serving our local communities and the communities of the nation and the world.

Building Healthy Futures . . . In greater Los Angeles, California, the Nation, and the World.

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Research,Education, and Service

1GOAL 1

Advance the mission of the School

through achievingexcellence in our three

core functions: research, education,

and service.

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While the School’s strategic planning efforts help identify newareas for emphasis, our core functions of research, education,

and service remain a top priority. However, within these areas theSchool will also need to prioritize.

Focusing on research areas where the School has great strength,for example, access to healthcare and environmental quality, willhelp bring even greater national and international prominence. At the same time, the School needs to position itself to excel innew research areas such as genomics and the social determinants of health. Increasing success in garnering extramural research funding is necessary to undertake cutting edge research. It will also help decrease the School’s reliance on state-based funding. The School hopes to increase research productivity in general andspecifically collaborative and trans-disciplinary research as well as student research.

Education and service are also critical components of theSchool’s primary mission. The School strives to continue to pro-vide quality education for our students. Areas for growth include developing a distance learning program at the school (11 otherschools of public health currently offer master’s degree programsvia distance learning), expanding the successful executive degreeprograms, and establishing a certificate program for core competencies in public health. The School is committed to increasing diversity among students and faculty as well as attracting new students to the field of public health.

By virtue of the nature of the work done at the School, there are many service-related efforts ongoing in the community. Both goals1 and 2, however recognize the need for improved coordination andtracking of the school’s community and service activities. Indeed, byintention, a number of goals are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, during the development of the strategic plan the importance of focusedwork within a thematic category (e.g. HIV prevention, nutrition, cancercontrol) was recognized. It was decided that for purposes of the plan,thematic or content-specific categories could be considered using amatrix approach of coordinated efforts within these categories acrossdifferent goals (and objectives). The approach is illusrated in the matrixon page 8.

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Objectives for Achieving Excellence in Research• Identify and build on existing research strengths

(e.g. access to healthcare and environmental quality)

• Position the School to excel in new research areas (e.g. genomics and social determinants of health)

• Increase research productivity

• Increase extramural grant funding

• Increase individual and School incentives to expand extramural cutting-edge research activities

• Increase collaborative research including trans-disciplinary research

• Increase student participation in research activities

Matrix Illustrating Possible Application of Goalsby Selected Themes

Examples of Thematic Categories

Cancer Prevention

Access to Health Care

Reproductive andPopulation Health

Obesity and DiabetesPrevention

✓ = concerted effort

GOAL 2

Partnership

✓

✓

✓

✓

GOAL 3

Global Health

✓

✓

GOAL 4

Communication/Policy

✓

✓

✓

✓

GOAL 5

Infrastructure

✓

✓

✓

✓

GOAL 1Research,

Education andService

✓

✓

✓

✓

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Objectives for Achieving Excellence in Education and Training• Evaluate the school-wide core curriculum, and specifically

— Develop courses covering the multiple determinants of health (e.g. social, environmental, biologic [genetic], and health care)

— Promote departmental-based reviews of the curriculum— Expand exposure to training in public health ethics

and policy

• Increase training opportunities for public health professionals— Expand the executive degree programs (alternatively

scheduled degrees for students working full-time), including considering doctoral level training

— Establish a certificate program in public health (i.e. corecourses for generalists or specific skills-based certificates)

— Increase the use of information technology to expand life long access to learning (e.g. distance learning/digitalmedia learning)

• Broaden the number, type, and participation in concurrent degree programs

• Increase trans-disciplinary training

• Increase and evaluate student-based practicum experiences

• Increase diversity of students and faculty

• Track postgraduate work placements

• Attract new students to the field of public health— Increase outreach activities— Implement an undergraduate minor in public health

Objectives for Achieving Excellence in Service• Emphasize and promote the important role of service

in achieving the School’s mission

• Expand the involvement of faculty, students and staff in community activities

• Coordinate the School’s service and practice efforts

• Develop systems to track service activities

• Increase representation on committees of national agencies (e.g. National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine)

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Partnership

2GOAL 2

Establish new andstrengthen existing

collaborative partnerships with

a major focus on working with communities toimprove health

in greater Los Angeles.

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Knowing that often much more can be achieved by approachingproblems collaboratively, the school will establish new and

strengthen existing partnerships, both on the campus and in thecommunity.

As the boundaries between public health and medicine continueto blur, collaborative research often produces the best solutions topressing health problems. For example, public health professionalsare often called upon to help determine which treatments for a particular health problem are best (e.g. surgery vs. chemotherapy)or to assess and make recommendation to improve the quality ofhealth care.

Yet another aspect of the School’s commitment to partner-ship involves our collaborations with the greater Los Angeles community. One of our greatest strengths is our proximity to therichly diverse communities of Los Angeles. By working together,both the School and the community can benefit. Communityorganizations have the opportunity to contribute to and influenceresearch that has the potential to affect their community while the School can direct its talents to helping to solve some of thehealth problems these communities face. In addition, working with communities not only provides a mechanism for conductingresearch, but true partnership dramatically enriches the importanceand contribution of the School’s research.

Objectives• Establish and define a long-term commitment of the School

of Public Health to enhance the health of greater Los Angeles(including targeted geographically-based areas within) throughcoordinated public health research, practice, and education activities

— Increase off campus commitments and partnerships (e.g., community based organizations, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, health providers,regulatory agencies)

— Coordinate and track the School’s partnership and community efforts

— Encourage active community engagement in research activities

— Ensure that research and partnerships are value-added for communities

— Evaluate the impact of efforts on health status and awareness of geographically-based efforts

• Strengthen campus-wide partnerships, both where the School ofPublic Health has the lead (e.g., healthier children, health policy)and where other UCLA units may have the lead, (e.g., aging,nutrition)

• Play a leadership role in enhancing trans-disciplinary training and research in the determinants of health

• Enhance public health partnerships outside the greater LosAngeles area (e.g. other schools of public health, governmentagencies, industry)

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Global Health

3GOAL 3

Enhance the School’s

contributions and visibility in global health.

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Each day it becomes more and more evident that the world isactually one global community. With the farthest reaches of

the world no more than a plane ride away, it is not enough to simply ensure the health of individual countries. In fact, workingto ensure the health and well being of all people throughout theworld is an important step towards stability and peace.

The School of Public Health has many faculty members conducting research and collaborating outside the U.S. However,the School does not have an established school-wide global or international health program. It is important to note that over half of all accredited schools of public health offer masters or doctoral degrees concentrating in global health. While a globalhealth program may bring the School in step with our peer institutions and is attractive to students and faculty, an even more important reason to pursue this area relates to the School’s location. Los Angeles’ proximity to Mexico and the Pacific Rimmakes it a natural for international collaborations. Moreover, the School’s global health activities will focus on immigrant populations in Los Angeles and California. These populations often have unique health issues ranging from language barriers to access to quality health care.

Objectives• Develop a school-wide program in global health

— Build on current content strengths, (e.g., Nutrition, HIV, Management)

— Expand global health course offerings— Develop degree granting potential in global health

• Expand training opportunities and support for foreign studentsliving outside the U.S.

• Expand and coordinate opportunities for U.S. students to workinternationally

• Enhance research and service (including policy development)activities in global health concerns of emerging importance (e.g. ethnic violence, terrorism, refugee health)

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Visibility/Impact

4GOAL 4

Increase the School’s visibility

and impact on publichealth issues,

including health policy development.

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In order to serve as a resource to the UCLA campus, the com-munity, the nation and the world, the School of Public Health

must have a strong and clear identity. One way to educate the public, the media, and others about the importance of the work of the School is to first increase awareness about the field of publichealth. Once the importance of public health is realized, it is easyto communicate the importance of the work of the School.

The School of Public Health is filled with renowned publichealth experts conducting critical research. However, the schoolmust improve its ability to communicate this research to a broaderaudience. The School can increase its contribution to policy development in critical areas, such as how health care should beorganized and financed. Furthermore, the School must do a betterjob of making its experts available to policy makers and the mediato help ensure that decisions related to public health are wellinformed.

Objectives• Enhance translation of scientific findings and knowledge

to evidence-based policy

• Enhance faculty involvement in policy development, implementation, and advocacy for relevant public health issues

• Increase recognition and reward for policy-related activities

• Increase cross-campus policy collaborations

• Evaluate and track policy activities

• Increase awareness of the field of public health

• Play a leadership role in public policy discussions about the future of the U.S. health care system

• Expand the School’s ability to communicate and disseminate public health information

• Educate the public to enhance understanding of the value of public health research

• Increase the visibility of the UCLA School of Public Health in relation to public health issues

— Increase coverage of School activities and expertise in local and national media

— Strengthen communication with alumni, communitygroups, and the UCLA community

— Improve internal communication

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Infrastructure

5GOAL 5

Build the School’sinfrastructure to support and

facilitate expandedresearch, education

and service initiatives.

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To support many of the changes suggested throughout thisstrategic plan and to function more efficiently, the School must

improve its infrastructure. Specifically, many of the goals related toincreasing research throughout the organization will be more easilyachieved with a centralized office of research. Furthermore, theSchool has been working within the confines of inadequate spacefor far too long and is pleased to announce that planning for a newbuilding is underway. Finally, the School would like to ensure thatthe faculty, staff, and student experience at UCLA is a positive oneand, wherever possible, make improvements to facilitate this goal.

Objectives• Build research infrastructure

— Create a centralized office of research to facilitate opportunities and reduce barriers

— Improve research tracking systems— Acquire state of the art research equipment

• Enhance administrative infrastructure— Expand existing and acquire new administrative

and accounting systems

• Enhance information technology infrastructure— Improve instructional technology capabilities— Expand the School’s video conferencing abilities— Improve the School’s computer hardware and

software capability and support

• Enhance facilities infrastructure— Assure adequate space to accommodate research needs— Update and upgrade facilities including labs— Launch a campaign to secure funds for a new building

• Enhance human infrastructure and improve the quality of faculty, student and staff life

— Address faculty recruitment and retention inadequacies— Expand faculty mentoring— Improve the availability of and access to staff training

opportunities— Expand the inclusion of students in School committees

and activities— Assure appropriate interactive space in new facility

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INTERNALDean’s Strategic Planning Advisory GroupGail HarrisonJohn Froines Patricia GanzRick Brown

School-Wide Faculty CommitteeRichard AmbroseTom Belin (Ex-Officio)Susan CochranDavid ElashoffNeal HalfonDiana HilbermanGerald KominskiHal MorgensternCharlotte NeumannCorinne Peek-AsaLinda Rosenstock (Ex-Officio)Robert SchiestlRobert Weiss

Faculty Executive Committee (2000-2001)Tom BelinMichael CollinsDeborah GlikGerald KominskiPatricia ParkertonWeng-Kee WongZuo-Feng ZhangMara Baer (Student Representative)

Evaluation Committee (2000-2001)Ellen AlkonRichard AmbroseEmil BerkanovicAnne PebleyCorinne Peek-AsaJudith Siegel (Ex-Officio)Mark StrassburgHazel WallaceNina Tayyib

Management Team (2000-2001)Bobb BarileChris ChangKathy CheeverKirsten ChickeringBeverly CosandBernie DempseyBarbara HouselEvelyn JamesJeanne LadnerJudith Levin Pat Ritter

Kathe SheaDiana SpringerDiana ThatcherDavid Watson

Public Health Student Association Board (2000-2001)Mara BaerLisa DowningSheila JainCat WongCathy TaylorRaphael TravisChris LeeSylvia LinCara AustenborgKitty LimDenise PerpichMelinda KwanAnne FarrellBetha SchnelleLynsey MitchelCrystal KeelerDavid CardenasStacey Marie JensenJulie ParkRiti Shimkhada

Community Outreach CommitteeDiana HilbermanMike PrelipFrank SorvilloToni Yancey

Dean’s Advisory BoardAndrew Allocco, Jr.Ira AlpertLinnae AndersonDiana Bontá Lester BreslowRobert Drabkin Tom EpleyGerald FactorRobert GillespieRoger F. GreavesJoanne HaleAlan Hopkins Stephen W. Kahane Carolyn KatzinCarolbeth Korn Edward J. O’Neill Walter OppenheimerDavid WalkerFred Wasserman

Contributors

*This listing does not include individual faculty, staff, and students who provided comments.

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EXTERNALCalifornia Department of Health Services

County Health Executives Association of California

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

UCLA Healthcare Collaborative

Christie ArowosegbeLAANE

James BarberHealthcare Association/Southern California

Yvonne Brathwaite-BurkeLos Angeles County Supervisor, Second Disrict

M’Liss DarioL.A. Care Health Plan

Barry DurettSexually Transmitted Disease ProgramL.A. County Department of Health Services

Liz ForerVenice Family Clinic

Barbara FreidmanL.A. Care Health Plan

Diane GabayCedars Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center

Michelle GainsCharles Drew University

Lark GallowayCommunity Health Councils

Mark GoldHeal the Bay

Johanna GoldbergL.A. Care Health Plan

Adisa GriffinAfrican-American Build a Legacy of Health

Sophia Guel-ValenzuelaAlta Med Health Services Corporation

Ron JohnsonNational Family Life and Education Center

Loretta JonesSPA 6 Convener

Jacque KasterSt. Jude Medical Center

Jackie Kosecoff Protocare, Inc.

Eve Kurtin Pacific Venture Group

Kaya-Trin LaisaarSexually Transmitted Disease ProgramL.A. County Department of Health Services

Kris LeeChildren’s Hospital

LaVonna LewisUniversity of Southern California

George H. MackHealthcare Association of Southern California

Victoria Martin Community Health Councils

Crystal McDwainLos Angeles Community College

Patricia MillerOffice of Yvonne Brathwaite-BurkeSupervisor, Second District

Nancy Monk Pacificare of California

Joyce PagePresident, UCLA Public Health Alumni Association

Mark Ridley-ThomasCity of Los Angeles Councilman, Eight DistrictPresident Pro Tempore

Dorothy SeleskiL.A. Care Health Plan

Debra SmithPublic Health Nurse Supervisor

Harrison SpencerAssociation of Schools of Public Health

Kathleen TorresOffice of Women’s Health L.A. County Department of Health Services

Liz Torres Worksite Wellness Project

Saundra TurnerInterstate Consultants & Executives

Kimberly WestCharles Drew University

Richard YaffeHealthcare Partners Medical Group

Zev YaroslavskyLos Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

Tom ZentyCedars Sinai Health System

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UCLA School of Public HealthBox 951772

Los Angeles, California 90095-1772

Phone: 310/825-6381Fax: 310/825-8440

Web site: www.ph.ucla.edu

Design: Martha Widmann / Illustrations: Rob Colvin


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UCLA School of Public Health - Home | Jonathan and Karin Fielding