Directional Statements for the Department of Public Health

Vision

The Department of Public Health will be nationally recognized for academic excellence, the expertise and talents of its faculty, and its dedication to preparing students for practical and academic careers in public health.  Our alumni and students will improve the health of communities through outreach, support and research, reducing health disparities and positively influencing health policy and resource development.

Mission

The University of Tennessee’s Department of Public Health prepares and mentors its students for exceptional careers in academia, public health research, administration and practice which promote optimal health of individuals and communities.

Guiding Principles

As a Department of Public Health at a land grant university, the following guiding principles support our mission:

• We are committed to providing an academically challenging, state-of- the-art education that bridges and integrates community health with epidemiology, health behavior and health education, health planning, administration, and environmental sciences.

• We seek to understand the common interests of societies and to promote social justice through focused efforts on equity and fairness. 

• We engage in outreach, service, and research that directly benefit the communities we serve.

• We respect and strongly believe in ethnic and cultural diversity.

• We foster interdisciplinary collaboration across departments within the University and with other health promoting institutions worldwide.

Professional Public Health Values R.I.S.E

The values guiding the DPH can best be summarized by the acronym “RISE”:

Respect – To engage in experiences that obligate a person to take responsibility for the public’s good, to recognize human dignity, and to value the worth of individual and collective behaviors.

Involvement – To include a variety of resources and learning exposures in the professional preparation and practice of public health students and in continuing education of the faculty.

Systems – To emphasize a social-ecological systems approach for understanding and promoting well-being of individuals, families and communities.

Excellence – To commit to quality in teaching-learning and in practice.
                  
The values ascribed to by the DPH in its educational mission are also those values which provide the foundation for the Principles for the Ethical Practice of Public Health: http://phls.org/CMSuploads/Principles-of-the-Ethical-Practice-of-PH-Version-2.2-68496.pdf

• Humans have a right to the resources necessary for health.
• Humans are inherently social and interdependent.
• The effectiveness of institutions depends heavily on the public’s trust.
• Collaboration is a key element to public health.
• People and their physical environment are interdependent.
• Each person in a community should have an opportunity to contribute to public discourse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact the Department of Public Health

1914 Andy Holt Ave.
390 HPER
Knoxville, TN 37996

Phone: (865) 974-5041
Fax: (865) 974-6439
dph@utk.edu

Admissions Coordinator:
Wendy Smith
(865) 974-5041
wsmith12@utk.edu

 

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