2024 SPH Kickoff Retreat: “Looking Forward: Decisions and Directions 2024”
Retreat description
Welcome to the homepage for our 8th annual school-wide kickoff, “Looking Forward: Decisions and Directions 2024”! Our annual kickoff is a school community event designed to energize and set course for the year around issues relevant to our work and mission. This year our kickoff will occur in two sessions:
Part I-Monday, August 19th 9:30-11:30am: Virtual Town Hall with a fireside chat moderated by Dean Giles with state, city, county, and community public health leadership on how to position the public health workforce to meet emerging public health challenges. Following Q&A, representatives from the Association for Schools and Programs in Public Health (ASPPH) and Cornerstone Government Affairs will share insights on the current political environment’s impact on public health.
Part II-Wednesday, September 4th 8:30-11:30am: Interactive in-person session for faculty and staff to reflect on information shared in Part I and discuss strategies that will position SPH for success over the next 5 years in the areas of student success, impactful research, community engagement and partnerships, and cultivating climate for faculty and staff success. This event will be held at Student Center West. Discussion results will inform our 2025-2030 strategic plan.
Part I: Town Hall (Virtual)
View Our Fireside Chat Recording
Part II: Interactive Strategy Session (In-person - Student Center West)
Take a look at the key activities and descriptions for Part II of our retreat in person in Student Center West. Coffee, fruit, and pastries will be served at check-in (8:30-9:00am).
About Level Setting
Dean Giles will open our session by sharing the overall purpose of the event and information that will set the stage for the morning’s activities. His remarks will include:
- A summary of outcomes from the fireside chat and presentations of Part I/town hall of the kickoff.
- Key takeaways from ASPPH’s Framing the Future reports.
- Progress made on last strategic plan, including things that worked well and works in progress.
- SPH guiding statements (mission, vision, values).
- Proposed goals, framework, and alignment with Chancellor’s priorities.
Moving from Six to Four Goals
The 2018-2024 strategic plan was developed through an engaged process by several cross-stakeholder work groups, and was comprised of six goals that focused on student success, advancing equity (diversity, equity and inclusion), teaching and learning excellence, global health, research, and community engagement. These foci remain relevant in today’s environment and are well aligned with the Chancellor’s strategic priorities. The proposed goals of the 2025-2030 strategic plan are re-configured to merge these foci more intuitively, provide clarity, and eliminate redundancy, decreasing their number from six to four.
Submit a grade on the new goals and how we’re doing now in our survey.
Previous Goals
2018-2024
Proposed Goals
2025-2030
Student Sucess
- (Goal 1: Enhance efforts to provide academic, social/emotional, and financial support to ensure our students are future leaders in public health.) +
- (Goal 3: Foster a stimulating, critical learning environment that prepares our students to tackle 21st century local, national, and global public health challenges.)
Student Success
Goal 1: Prepare our students to address emerging public health challenges through teaching excellence, cutting edge curricula, and holistic student support (ADAA, ADSA, ADGH, ADCE)
Advancing Health Equity
- (Goal 2: Prioritize and cultivate a commitment to health equity, social justice, and diversity and inclusion.) +
- (Goal 5: Ensure the pre-eminence of the SPH Global Health Program through leadership, an enhanced administrative structure, faculty hires, student support, and seed funding for global health research.) +
- (Goal 6: Build capacity to enhance community engagement in teaching, research, service, and practice.)
Advancing Health Equity
Goal 2: Enhance capacity and strategic partnerships to improve health equity through engagement with diverse communities in Chicago, Illinois, and beyond. (ODI, ADGH, ADCE)
Research
Goal 4: Strengthen and support the UIC SPH Research Program for local and global impact and visibility.
Research
Goal 3: Strengthen and support our research program for local to global impact. (ADR, ADGH, ADCE)
Faculty/Staff Success
No prior equivalent.
New Goal
Goal 4: Cultivate a nurturing environment that supports faculty and staff success.
Proposed Goals Graphic
The above graphic illustrates how the six 2018-2024 foci were merged into the 2025-2030 proposed goals.
About Strategies
Following a brief energizer with Michele, Keith, and Angela, and an introduction to the exercise by Dr. Chriqui, we’ll talk about stratgies that will advance the four goals. Each group will generate a maximum of 3 strategies that will significantly improve metrics tied to their assigned goal.
Strategy Requirements:
- Starts with an action word
- Leverages existing strengths
- Honors current capacities and workloads of faculty and staff
- Responds to projected environment
- Achievable in 5 years and sustainable beyond
About Prioritization
What would you do if you had $50,000 in seed money for each of the goals? Which strategies would you invest in for highest return? Put your money where you think it will best advance our mission and values.
After you’ve made your investments, we’ll take 20-30 mins to discuss and then wrap up.
View Kickoff Resources & Outcomes
Proposed Strategic Goals for 2025-2030
Here are the proposed goals for the next five years. Each tab provides the full goal, statements of success used in our previous strategic plan, and comments on those statements from members of our community who attended last year’s retreat. Take a look and think about whether these goals set adequate direction for the next 5 years. Use the link above to grade and comment on the goals before Part II! (Deadline: Friday, August 30th)
About Goal 1
We will prepare our students to address emerging public health challenges through teaching excellence, cutting edge curricula, and holistic student support.
What success looks like (from 2018-2024 strategic plan – Goals 1 and 3):
- Our students have the resources they need to continue enrollment, graduate, and achieve positive post-graduate outcomes.
- Our programs yield students and graduates who feel prepared for their jobs, and satisfaction among employees and/or preceptors.
Sampled comments on ways to improve statement(s) of success (from last year’s retreat discussions):
- More resource engagement
- Technology
- Mentorship/alumni engagement
- Expanded course offerings/flexibility (evening and summer)
- We see improvement in outcomes from climate surveys of students (i.e. less social/emotional and financial stress)
- Our students enter into fields outside of non-traditional public health.
See strategic directions breakout discussion outcomes from last year’s retreat here.
Share your thoughts in our survey.
About Goal 2
We will enhance capacity and strategic partnerships to improve health equity through engagement with diverse communities in Chicago, Illinois, and beyond.
What success looks like (from 2018-2024 strategic plan – Goals 2, 5, and 6 ):
- Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners feel represented, included, safe, and respected, and principles of cultural humility, health equity, and social justice are explicit and well integrated throughout the student learning experience.
- Growth of student enrollment in our global health certificate. Curricula that integrates international perspectives on health in global to local contexts. Scholarly work that contributes to discovery on public health issues with global implications. Engagement of our students, faculty, and staff with persons from outside of the U.S.
- We establish bidirectional relationships with communities, and are recognized as a trusted partner. Our faculty, staff, and students are actively engaged in the community.
Sampled comments on ways to improve statement(s) of success (from last year’s retreat discussions):
- Consider use of the word “safe” – what do we mean by that? Safe in what ways and for whom?
- Success = when our program is not traumatizing/re-traumatizing to students
- “Well integrated and communicated throughout the student learning experience” – important to communicate resources explicitly
- Public health knowledge going both ways not just us [going to] other countries (developing and developed) (e.g. CHW model on effective implementation)
- Define/assumption – global health (us as leader or learner)
- Community engaged projects reflect equitable funding for community partners (not like NIH grants w/ 60% indirects to the university)
- Define “community” – too broad
- “bidirectional relationships” – define and be appropriate
See strategic directions breakout discussion outcomes from last year’s retreat here.
Share your thoughts in our survey.
About Goal 3
We will strengthen and support our research program for local to global impact.
What success looks like (from 2018-2024 strategic plan – Goal 4):
Our scholars produce research of high quality and quantity that is collaborative, rigorous, and impactful. Our research is visible both inside and outside of SPH. We effect positive change through the generation of knowledge, translation of findings, and implementation/use of models in communities.
Sampled comments on ways to improve statement(s) of success (from last year’s retreat discussions):
- Define success through an increase in research admin support – Not just admin support for NIH and high overhead research but for grants with money for community as well as with funding parties
- Add “responsive” – we were for COVID
- “visibility” – need more of public health work in UIC and beyond (e.g. trials/UI Health)
- Define “research” – too broad
- Expand on “collaborative”
- Expand on “communities” (clarify and articulate)
See strategic directions breakout discussion outcomes from last year’s retreat here.
Share your thoughts in our survey.
About Goal 4
We will cultivate a nurturing environment that supports faculty and staff success.
This is a new goal. There is no prior statement of success. What do you think it should be within the context of our other goals?
See faculty and staff health and well-being breakout discussion outcomes from last year’s retreat here.
Share your thoughts in our survey.
Our Strategic Framework
Strategic Framework Illustration