View past EPC agendas (Google Drive)

Purpose

The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) is an advisory body to the dean. The EPC shall be responsible for:

• Working with the dean to envision future directions for educational programs and policies.
• Making recommendations to the dean on proposed new degree programs, and the sunsetting of existing programs, via committee review and vote.
• Through the EPC representative to the Policy Council, reviewing and making recommendations on school-wide policies that are being discussed by the Policy Council. A “policy” is interpreted here as a set of rules and does not include guidelines, procedures, or practices.
• Regular review of existing courses and degree programs.
• Approval of proposed courses via committee review and vote.
• Serving as a forum for the exchange of information about education programs, pedagogy, and enhancing and supporting quality teaching.
• Other matters with import for the education of the school’s students and for instructors of the school’s courses.

Membership

The voting membership shall consist of one faculty member for each MPH “major” program, each graduate program, and each undergraduate program (preferably the program’s director for each of them), two student members (nominated by the SPH Student Senate), and one Graduate Program Coordinator (selected by the Graduate Program Coordinators). Voting members who represent more than one program cast one vote per program represented. Programs not directly represented with a voting member include integrated degree programs (e.g., 4+1), minors that do not have a corresponding major, and certificate programs. The Associate Dean of Education & Student Engagement and the school’s registrar (or their equivalents) serve as ex officio, non-voting members. The registrar serves as staff support for the committee. Other significant educational activities may be represented as ex officio, non-voting members, or as invitees to appropriate EPC meetings, as the EPC shall decide. The dean is ineligible to serve.

Appointments and Leadership

Appointments are made as described in the Bylaws. Vacancies in membership will be filled by the respective educational program or the Student Senate. The chair and vice-chair of the EPC each serve for one year. The chair appointment rotates through the four divisions in the following order: Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology & Community Health, Health Policy & Management. The vice-chair is selected from among the directors from the next division in the list; the vice chair becomes the chair in the next year. The EPC chair (or delegate from among the EPC members) serves as the EPC representative on the Policy Council. An EPC member may be re-selected as the Policy Council representative for additional years during their EPC term(s), consecutive or not.

2025-26 Committee Membership

Voting Members

• Silvia Balbo (Environmental Health Sciences MS and PhD)
• Jeff Bender (Public Health Practice MPH)
• Bjorn Berg (Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration MS and Healthcare Management Administration MHA)
• Zobeida Bonilla (Maternal and Child Health MPH)
• Ann Brearley Julian Wolfson (Public Health Data Science MPH)
• Kristin Chalberg (Graduate Program Coordinator Representative)
• Sarah Gollust (Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration PhD)
• Sagal Jama (SPH Student Senate Representative)
• Kamakshi Lakshminarayan (Clinical Research MS)
• Susan Mason (Epidemiology PhD)
• Toben Nelson (Community Health Promotion MPH)
• Ruby Nguyen (Public Health BA)
• Hope Nixon (SPH Student Senate Representative)
• Ashley Petersen (Biostatistics MS and PhD, Vice Chair)
• Pete Raynor (Occupational Hygiene MS and PhD)
• Matt Simcik (Environmental Health MPH, Chair)
• Jamie Stang (Public Health Nutrition MPH)
• Rachel Widome (Epidemiology MPH)
• Rebecca Wurtz (Public Health Administration and Policy MPH, Chair)

Ex Officio Members

• Ellyn Buchanan (Director of E-Learning Services)
• Ellen Demerath (EpiCH Division Training Committee Chair)
• Emily Dunsworth (Assistant Dean for Recruitment & Enrollment)
• Stuart Grande (Public Health Administration and Policy MPH)
• Anne Marie Hotop (CEPH Accreditation Coordinator)
• Lauren Jones (Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
• Melissa Laska (Incoming Public Health Nutrition MPH Program Director)
• Jennifer Porter (Assistant Dean for Enrolled Student Experience)
• Corey Schultz (Academic Operations Specialist)
• Drew Smith (Scholarship Coordinator)
• Mercedes Taneja (Applied Practice Coordinator)
• Elizabeth Wattenberg (Associate Dean for Education & Student Engagement)
• Stefanie Wiesneski (Director of Student Records, Curriculum, and Compliance)

EPC Curriculum Subcommittee

The Curriculum Subcommittee is charged with providing leadership for the development and implementation of all new undergraduate and graduate courses and programs. The subcommittee will review program and course proposals for learning objectives to meet educational goals, content, instructional hours, competencies, integration of themes, provide oversight to ensure academic standards are met, review for overlap and redundancy, etc. The subcommittee serves in an advisory capacity to the SPH Educational Policy Committee to recommend approval, concerns, additional recommendations, etc.

Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month, from 9:30am to 11:00am via Zoom.

Subcommittee Composition

The Curriculum Subcommittee consists of program directors and directors of graduate studies representing the various programs, and SPH staff appropriate to the subcommittee’s responsibility.

Current Subcommittee Membership

• Zobeida Bonilla, Program Director, Maternal and Child Health MPH
• Sagal Jama (SPH Student Senate)
• Sally Olander (Biostatistics MS and PhD Program Coordinator)
• Ashley Petersen (Biostatistics MS and PhD)
• Matt Simcik (Environmental Health MPH)
• Stefanie Wiesneski (Director of Student Records, Curriculum, and Compliance)
• Rebecca Wurtz (Executive Public Health Administration and Policy MPH)