Last week, ASPPH met with faculty and staff from the Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health (Drexel) and their health department partners from the Philadelphia Department of Health and Delaware County Department of Health. The meeting, Strengthening Partnerships between Schools of Public Health and Health Departments, was organized to learn how academia and practice are formally and informally partnering to advance public health.

Meeting attendees discussed collaborative efforts to advance community partnership, public health workforce recruitment, retention and development, and student training.

Findings will inform the work of the ASPPH Center for Public Health Workforce Development, which is supported through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under OE22-2201 “Strengthening the Population and Public Health Workforce Pipeline”. ASPPH continues to plan meetings with schools and programs of public health to learn about formal and informal partnerships with state, Tribal, local, and territorial health departments. Findings will be synthesized and shared with ASPPH members and partners to inform, advance, and prioritize academic and practice partnerships.

ASPPH would like to thank Dr. Tariem Burroughs (Drexel), Director of Experiential Learning and Career Services, for hosting this meeting. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Emily Burke, ASPPH’s Senior Director of Workforce Development and Applied Practice.