MPH Memos
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Fall 2009 Issue 3
Department of Public Health Important Dates to Remember
Effective July 1, 2010, the Center for Public Health will be
merging with MPH Program to form a newly established November 1- March 1—Registration
Department of Public Health. This is a first for the MPH period for April 24, 2010 CHES exam
Program which has always been housed within a
department with several other academic programs. The January 13—Classes resume
Center for Public Health will be moving to the HPER
building within the next few weeks. The new department January 18—MLK Holiday
head has not been named.
March 1—Deadline to sign up with Dr.
Hamilton for Comprehensive Exam on
Revision of Doctoral Program in Community April 9
Health
Following extensive examination during the past several March 6—Graduating Fee Payment
months, public health faculty revised the curriculum for Deadline
the PhD degree in Education with a concentration in
Community Health and identified a new name for the March 8-12—Spring Break
concentration. Effective fall 2010, the new curriculum will
lead to a PhD in Education with a concentration in Health April 2—Spring Recess
Behavior and Health Education. These changes will be
reflected in the 2010-2011 Graduate Catalog. April 9—MPH Comprehensive Exam
April 24—CHES exam
New MPH Elective Course Offered Spring
2010
April 30—Deadline to register for
Nutrition 602: “A socio-ecological approach to
2010 Public Health Certification Exam
middle-childhood obesity prevention and
treatment” will be taught by Dr. Betsy Haughton,
May 4-11—Final Exams
Dr. Hollie Raynor, and Dr. Marsha Spence. The
class is a 3 credit hour course and scheduled for
May 13—Graduate Hooding Ceremony
Tuesday/Thursday 2:10-3:25. A basic
undergraduate nutrition course (NTR 100) is
required as a pre-requisite and a graduate level
research methods or statistics course is required
as either a pre- or co-requisite.
Registration Open for Public Health Certification Exam
If you’re interested in taking the public health certification exam in 2010, you can register online
(www.publichealthexam.org) to take the exam at one of 300 U.S. test centers. The exam dates are August 6-
28, 2010. First available in 2008, the exam has been taken by about 1000 public health professionals.
The exam tests a candidate’s knowledge of the five core areas and seven cross-cutting competencies in
public health. To be eligible for the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam you must have graduated from a
Council on Education for Public Health-accredited school or program in public health. Those graduating in
2010 must have completed all degree requirements on or before July 31, 2010. A waiver may be possible
only if a summer field placement ends after July 31. The costs are $400 until April 30, 2010.
Don’t forget to visit the Graduate Forum on Blackboard
Appointment to Tennessee Legislative Internship
Daveisha Moore, MPH/HPA student, following a series of interviews recently received notice that her
application for the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program was successful. She will join 21 other
university students from across the state who will serve as legislative interns assigned to committees of the
Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville during spring 2010. Internal competition was keen with only
six students selected from the 35 UTK students who applied for this experience. This internship allows
students to learn about how state government operates and how bills are formed and eventually passed
into laws.
Daveisha will be assigned to either the Health and Human Resources Committee in the House or the
General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee in the state Senate. Her general duties will
include performing bill analysis, which will involve determining the health, economic, and political
impacts of bills developed and considered by the committee. She will be assigned research projects and
will collect statistical data from Tennessee and other states. She will attend all the committee and
subcommittee meetings. Additionally, she will keep the committee’s bill status report current and
determine when committee appearances are necessary.
Milestone--40 Years of Program Accreditation
The MS degree in Public Health Education at the University of Tennessee was accredited June 13, 1969 by
the Committee on Professional Education of the American Public Health Association. This was the first
public health degree program outside a school of public health to achieve national accreditation. During
fall 1971 the first MPH degree with a major in Community Health Education was awarded, following state
approval of the professional MPH degree in the same year. On September 20, 1996, the 25th anniversary of
the first awarded MPH degree was celebrated. Plans are underway to recognize the 40th anniversary of
the MPH degree, most likely in 2011.
New Public Health Graduate Teaching Associate
Lacreisha Ejike-King has been appointed public health graduate teaching associate for 2010. She will
serve as instructor for the introduction to public health course (PH 300), assist in the coordination of
graduate seminar (PH 509), edit the MPH Memos newsletter, and handle other responsibilities for the
MPH program. Lacreisha earned the MS degree in health and human performance from Austin Peay State
University and is a PhD student in community health.
Lacreisha is replacing Allison Turner who has served as public health GTAssociate during calendar year
2009. Allison will graduate with the MPH degree in community health education this month and is
returning to the Atlanta area. Thanks are extended to Allison for her many, high quality contributions to
the MPH program over the past 12 months.
Intern Receives Award for Effort
Congratulations to Kristin Kelly! While completing her internship at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Education, Kristin was nominated by three different people for the Score Award for her effort on three different
projects. Kristin received a $100 Visa Gift Card in recognition of her exceptional performance. It is extremely rare
at ORISE for an intern to receive this type of acknowledgement.
Dear Classmates and Professors,
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Knoxville. Even though I do not wear orange or cheer for the Vols
(Go Dawgs!), I am proud to represent the MPH Program at the University of Tennessee. Thank you for
your support and guidance.
Sincerely,
Allison Turner
amturner84@gmail.com
Please send your suggestions, announcements, and accomplishments to Lacreisha Ejike-King, MPH
Memos editor, at lejike@utk.edu