The School of Public Health works with community partners on a wide range of research and service initiatives, but it also reaches out to the community in more informal ways. Some highlights from the past year include:

Health Research and Policy Centers Celebrate First Anniversary

Over 100 faculty, staff, and guests gathered on October 7, 1998 to celebrate the anniversary marking the first year since the five component centers and programs were united as the Health Research and Policy Centers (HRPCs). Administered by the School of Public Health, the HRPCs form a cluster of all-university centers that promote collaborative research initiatives among the school’s divisions as well as in partnership with other colleges and community organizations.

Irving Harris (center) with students and graduates from the Maternal and Child Health Program.

COIP workers distribute holiday toys.

Irving Harris Honored by Community Health Sciences Division

Irving Harris, long-time benefactor of the Community Health Sciences Division’s Maternal and Child Health Program, was honored by Naomi M. Morris, MD, MPH, program director, and faculty, graduates, and students from the program at a luncheon held December 10 at the Chicago Illini Union. For the past sixteen years, Mr. Harris’s generous support through the Pittway Corporation Charitable Foundation has enabled students to pursue advanced degrees specializing in maternal and child health. While presenting an award to Mr. Harris, Dean Susan Scrimshaw cited his ongoing contribution to the preparation of leaders and advocates for the care of mothers and children.

SPH Gathers Holiday Toys for Children in Need

Every holiday season, in conjunction with the party held for SPH faculty, staff, and friends, guests are asked to donate toys for the children of parents served throughout Chicago by the Community Outreach Intervention Projects (COIP), a street-based HIV prevention program. Dr. Marcia Gomez, COIP’s services director, noted that, "This effort takes dedication, love, and respect for disenfranchised families. It makes us feel very proud to be part of a staff who make sure that every child touched by our efforts receives a gift and feels the love and care that the holidays should bring to everyone."

Dean’s Reception Held in Glencoe

School of Public Health alumnus and Dean’s Advisory Council member Fred Benjamin, MPH (‘77), and his wife, Sharon, opened their home to host a Dean’s Reception on January 17, 1999. The informal gathering provided an opportunity for old and new friends to hear an update from Dean Scrimshaw on developments at the school and to talk with students about their studies and projects.

Community Groups Present Findings from Chicago Social Networks Project

A group of community partners from the Chicago Social Networks project, led by Michele A. Kelley, ScD, MSW, MA, professor, Community Health Sciences Division, presented findings from their collaborative research project at the Social Context of Pregnancy Conference, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta in February. Participants included representatives from Alivio Medical Center, Erie Family Health Center, the South Side Health Consortium, the Cook County Department of Public Health, and Mile Square Health Center. The CDC-funded Social Networks project is a participatory research initiative designed to improve science through inclusion of members of the target population in all phases of the research process. Findings were also presented to a Chicago audience in June.

Party of Funk and Rock Benefits Community Outreach Intervention Projects

HotHouse, the Center for International Performance and Exhibition, was the setting for a benefit party of funk and rock, held February 20 in support of the Community Outreach Intervention Projects. Chicago musician LeRoy Bach organized a terrific show that included Marvin Tate’s d-Settlement, Jeff Tweedy, Jay Bennett, and Diane Izzo, who, along with other musicians, donated their talent and time to the benefit. Co-sponsors included The Annoyance Theater, Black Ensemble Theater, Cousin’s, Daily Bar & Grill, Kopi Cafe, Laurie’s Planet, Postcarders, Shear Madness, and Sugar Free Records. All proceeds from the event, which was attended by 250 people, were used for material storefront improvements to COIP’s field stations located in Grand Boulevard, Uptown, Austin, and Humboldt Park.

PreventionVille—Communicating the Impact of Public Health in Our Daily Lives

The School of Public Health, led by Shaffdeen A. Amuwo, associate dean for community, government, and alumni affairs, highlighted Public Health Week (April 5–9) by joining with federal agencies, local health departments, and community organizations to host the PreventionVille display, a walk-through exhibit created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that takes viewers through five different communities and illustrates nearly 200 ways that public health improves the lives of people in each. Corporate sponsors included Jewel-Osco and Merck. PreventionVille was on display to the public in the rotunda of the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago during the entire week.

School Hosts 21st Annual International Night

Balinese dancers and Celtic musicians provided some of the entertainment at the school’s 21st International Night. Ethnic dress was encouraged, and ethnic food was shared by faculty, students, staff, and friends attending the event at the Chicago Illini Union on April 16. Funds raised by the evening supported the International Student Aid Fund, established this year in memory of a public health student to help with unexpected expenses faced by international students at the school.

Project Sponsors Honored at Spring Events

UIC’s Sixth Annual Corporate and Foundation Recognition Luncheon, held March 23, recognized Susan R. Levy, PhD, CHES, professor, Community Health Sciences Division, and director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, and her work on Building Your Life, a multiple risk-prevention program serving children and families through the Chicago Public Schools. The program has been generously supported over the past five years through grants from the Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation, the Paul and Gabriella Rosenbaum Foundation, the Polk Brothers Foundation, and the Prince Charitable Trusts. After Dr. Levy’s presentation, the donors were recognized, and Madge Goldman, of the Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation, spoke on the importance and success of the program.

The Rosenbaum Foundations were again recognized for their support of Building Your Life at the Spring Gathering, a reception and dinner hosted by the University of Illinois April 30 at the Four Seasons Hotel to recognize major donors. Also honored was the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute for the institute’s support of asthma-prevention initiatives in Chicago schools and communities directed by Victoria Persky, MD, professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division.

Faculty Member Organizes Town Hall Meeting on the Environment

Dr. Victoria Persky organized a town hall meeting entitled "The Environment, Your Health, and Our Neighborhoods," held July 7-9. Co-sponsored by UIC, the Chicago Asthma Consortium, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and attended by 150 people representing several Chicago communities, the meeting focused on diseases that disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities and allowed participants to voice their concerns regarding U.S. research on pollution, poverty, and disease.