For immediate release - February 17, 2006

12 Schools and Graduate Programs of Public Health Selected for Engaged 
Institutions Initiative Focused on Eliminating Health Disparities

Despite major advances in health care and health status in the 21st century, 
disparities persist between whites and people of color - creating one of the 
most pressing social justice issues facing America today.  Not only are most 
racial and ethnic groups less healthy, but they also tend to have shorter life 
expectancies, higher rates of infant mortality and chronic diseases, worse 
outcomes once diagnosed with illnesses, and less access to health care than 
their white counterparts. Racial and ethnic health disparities persist even 
when socio-economic status and insurance coverage are taken into account, due 
to a complex combination of factors. Eliminating these disparities will require 
collaborative solutions that bring communities and institutions together as 
partners and build upon the assets, strengths, and capacities of each.  Schools 
and graduate programs of public health - with their roles in educating public 
health professionals, conducting public health research and applying knowledge 
to solve public health problems - have a unique and important role to play. We 
are pleased to announce today that 12 schools and graduate programs of public 
health are taking on the challenge of becoming engaged institutions focused on 
eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities as participants in the Engaged 
Institutions Initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

One year ago, a seminar sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to celebrate 
its 75th anniversary called upon schools and graduate programs of public health 
to spearhead efforts to transform all colleges and universities into engaged 
institutions that are working to eliminate racial and ethnic health 
disparities.  The Foundation defines engaged institutions as "institutions that 
invest in lasting relationships with communitiesthese relationships influence, 
shape, and promote the success of both the institution and the community."  In 
supporting the Engaged Institutions Initiative, the Foundation seeks to 
catalyze sustained efforts by schools and graduate programs of public health to 
eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in partnership with communities.

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) will work collaboratively and 
intensively with teams from 12 schools and graduate programs of public health 
as they develop and implement strategic action plans to become fully engaged 
institutions focused on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.  Team 
members include academic administrators, faculty, staff, students and community 
partners who have made a commitment to collective action.  Selected from among 
26 applicants, they provided evidence of commitment and participation from 
institutional and community leaders, made a clear and compelling case for their 
readiness to invest in authentic community-campus partnerships, and 
demonstrated the ability to engage other parts of their campuses in the effort. 
Consultation will be provided by members of the CCPH Consultancy Network, the 
organization's training and technical assistance arm.  The initiative will also 
sponsor teleconferences, identify promising practices and produce resource 
materials.

For more information, please contact CCPH Executive Director Sarena Seifer at 
[log in to unmask] or 206-616-4305.   Initiative announcements and updates 
will be posted on the CCPH website at www.ccph.info

To receive e-mail announcements and updates on the initiative - along with 
other resources to support engaged institutions that are focused on eliminating 
racial and ethnic health disparities - subscribe to the free Kellogg 75th 
Anniversary listserv at 
https://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/kellogg75

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

In alphabetical order by state:

* Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 
Tucson, AZ
* Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical 
Sciences, Little Rock, AR
* Master of Public Health Program in Community Health Education, San Jose State 
University, San Jose, CA
* University of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa, FL
* Master of Public Health Program, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University 
of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
* Morgan State University School of Public Health and Policy, Baltimore, MD
* Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA
* Master of Public Health Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center and 
University of Nebraska at Omaha, NE
* University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
* Oregon Master of Public Health Program, a consortium among Portland State 
University in Portland, Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and 
Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR
* Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
* Master of Public Health Program and Center on Health Disparities, School of 
Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

ABOUT COMMUNITY-CAMPUS PARTNERSHIPS FOR HEALTH

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) is a nonprofit membership 
organization that promotes health (broadly defined) through partnerships 
between communities and higher educational institutions.  Founded in 1996, CCPH 
is a growing network of over 1,000 communities and campuses that are 
collaborating to promote health through service-learning, community-based 
participatory research, broad-based coalitions and other community-academic
partnership strategies. CCPH advances its mission by disseminating information, 
providing training and technical assistance, conducting research and 
evaluations, facilitating policy and systems change, and building coalitions. 
Learn more about CCPH at www.ccph.info.

CCPH supports the development of authentic partnerships between communities and 
higher educational institutions that are characterized by the 9 Principles of 
Good Community-Campus Partnerships: (1) Partners have agreed upon mission, 
values, goals and measurable outcomes for the partnership, (2) The relationship 
between partners is characterized by mutual trust, respect, genuineness and 
commitment, (3) The partnership builds upon identified strengths and assets, 
but also addresses areas that need improvement, (4) The partnership balances 
the power among partners and enables resources among partners to be shared, (5) 
There is clear, open and accessible communication between partners, making it 
an on-going priority to listen to each need, develop a common language, and 
validate/clarify the meaning of terms, (6) Roles, norms, and processes for the 
partnership are established with the input and agreement of all partners, (7) 
There is feedback to, among and from all stakeholders in the partnership, with 
the goal of continuously improving the partnership and its outcomes, (8) 
Partners share the credit for the partnership's accomplishments, and (9) 
Partnerships take time to develop and evolve over time.

ABOUT THE W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help 
themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to 
improve their quality of life and that of future generations."  To achieve the 
greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These 
include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and 
philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to 
exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication 
technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community 
development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and 
the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, 
Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.  Learn more about 
the Foundation at www.wkkf.org

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Community-Campus Partnerships for Health is a nonprofit organization
that promotes health through partnerships between communities and
higher educational institutions.  Become a member today at www.ccph.info

CCPH is the Higher Education Senior Program Advisor for the Learn and
Serve America National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.  Visit the
Clearinghouse at www.servicelearning.org

Join CCPH for our 9th Conference, May 31-June 3, 2006 in Minneapolis, MN!
Register today for 4 days of skill-building, networking & agenda-setting
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