MIAMI, FL (August 14, 2007) – Florida International University’s Stempel School of Public Health has been accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
The School was accredited for a period of five years, the maximum initial accreditation time for a new school of public health.
The vote by the CEPH’s Board of Councilors puts FIU in the ranks of 38 other nationally accredited schools of public health such as Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. FIU’s is only the second accredited school in Florida, after the University of South Florida.
FIU Executive Vice President and Provost Ronald Berkman explained that a vibrant school of public health is vital to the University’s plans in the area of healthcare, which include opening the FIU College of Medicine in 2009.
“The field of public health can make important contributions to complex, changing communities like we have in South Florida,” said Berkman. “The impact will be transformative to this community, when coupled with the strength of a new public medical school.”
Stempel School’s interim dean, Michele Ciccazzo, said the accreditation was achieved in just three years, which is a testament to the program’s strength.
“We met the accepted national standards for a curriculum that provides the knowledge and skills needed in today’s job market,” Ciccazzo said. “This honor enhances the national reputation of FIU and provides a valuable indicator of the quality of our SSPH programs.”
The Stempel School of Public Health has as its vision to serve as a model for stimulating educational programs and community-based research in the advancement of public health that reflects a dynamic multi-cultural environment. The Stempel School has a faculty of 40 and more than 1,000 students. Faculty are actively engaged in research on HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, obesity, and many other areas of prevention of national and local interest.
The Stempel School offers master’s and doctoral degree programs in public health (including specializations in biostatistics, community nutrition, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology, health policy and management, and health promotion and disease prevention) and dietetics and nutrition; a master’s degree in health services administration, and bachelor’s degrees in dietetics and nutrition, and health services administration.
For more information about the accreditation entity, the CEPH, please go to http://www.ceph.org
More information about the Stempel School of Public Health can be found at http://chua2.fiu.edu/ssph
—FIU—
Media Contact:
Jose D. Parra at 305-348-2716, or parraj@fiu.edu
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