Posted 02/06/2007

Smith to lead Arnold School's new Office of
Public Health Practice team  

With a new staff and quarters, the Arnold School’s Office of Public Health Practice is ready to develop and fine-tune an array of programs that will touch the lives of nearly all students, faculty and alumni.

Interested? You can get some of the details during an Open House this Friday at the OPHP’s new home on the third floor of the Health Science Building, Room 307.

The Open House is a joint event with the South Carolina Public Health Consortium, a project administered by the Arnold School and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The new OPHP Director, Dr. Lillian Smith, says the Office has been rejuvenated with the addition of a talented team that will strengthen and expand the links between the school and public health practitioners.

“We want to bridge the gap between academia and practice,” Smith said. “We need to teach what we practice and practice what we teach.”

Joining Smith in the OPHP’s new efforts will be:

   •   Regina Fields, associate director, who formerly was with the USC Office of Research and Health Sciences where she served as research associate for Health Sciences South Carolina.  She received a master’s degree in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior from the Arnold School.  She has worked for the S.C. Department of Education, the Prevention Research Center at the Arnold School and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. She also served as executive director of the S.C. Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.  

   •   Donna Rhoades, practice counselor, received her doctorate from the USC College of Education. She has been a licensed professional counselor and supervisor and has worked in the fields of mental health services, educational curriculum development and public health research.

   •   Felicia Collins, continuing/distance education coordinator, has a background in managing professional development programs, curricula writing, computer training and technical writing. She has experience in elementary and higher education.  She has bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas A&M University.

   •   Janice Compton, administrative coordinator, has worked in both administrative and center roles throughout the university for the past ten years. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from USC.

   •   Ali Mansaray, doctoral graduate assistant, has a master’s degree from the Arnold School’s Department of Health Services Policy and Management.  His research focus is on the use of information technology in management of public health programs. 

Smith, who also serves as director of the S.C. Public Health Consortium, is a clinical assistant professor in the Arnold School’s Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.  She has 15 years of experience in public health program planning, information and dissemination.

She has a bachelor’s degree and a certificate in business and technical communication from East Carolina University; her master’s degree in prevention science through distance education from Emory University; a certificate in adult and distance education from Penn State University and her doctorate in public health from USC.

A primary focus of OPHP will be to track, monitor and evaluate student practice experiences. A key component to these efforts will be an interactive website currently under development and scheduled for rollout this fall. The portal will help match students with practice opportunities on and off campus.

“This will make sure that opportunities don’t fall through the cracks. People (students, faculty/staff, practitioners) will have a central place to go to search for and post practice opportunities,” Smith said.

The database’s reporting system also will help to monitor the practice experience. “For instance, if we have a problem with a preceptor, then we don’t send other students to that particular preceptor,” she said. The OPHP also will take responsibility for helping train preceptors to ensure excellence in on-the-job training.

The portal also will be useful for graduates who can utilize it to network. It will also be a place to find others with similar research interests and expertise.

Another important goal of the OPHP is continuing education and workforce development. The Office is working with the South Carolina Public Health Consortium to develop continuing education courses and certificates for public health practitioners to be offered over the Internet.

Smith, who is an advocate of distance learning, says she would like to see a wide array of course material available online.