Saint Francis receives grant and creates Public Health Fellowship program

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The Center for Integrated Public Health Education and Research (CIPHER) at the University of Saint Francis is excited to announce the creation of a Public Health Fellowship program.

This program is partially supported by a $28,000 grant from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation.

“The opportunity for CIPHER to have fellowships is a great benefit to the community,” CIPHER Executive Director Dr. Amelia Clark said. “Students who become fellows will have a meaningful, real-world experience that complements their coursework. Fellows will have a firsthand experience in building relationships, learning the importance of collaboration and how they can use their skills to generate social impact.”

The Fellow program at CIPHER will engage two undergraduate or graduate students in an eight-week interdisciplinary learning space. Students will consider the multidimensional realities of working in underserved communities and the skills and vocational needs necessary to bring about creative solutions and problem solving to improve public health. In this first year, the fellows will work with organizations in the community that address maternal/child health and/or nutrition.

CIPHER fosters strong connections among community stakeholders to improve public health in greater Fort Wayne and northern Indiana. Rooted in Catholic social teachings, CIPHER links academic and practice communities in cross-sector collaboration as an incubator for new ideas and strategies to address our state’s public health crisis by providing expert consultation and management of cross-sector initiatives to drive changes in mindsets, practice and policy to achieve improved public health.

For more information, contact Dr. Clark at 260-399-7700, ext. 8510 or aclark@sf.edu.

Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, Saint Francis designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. USF Downtown houses the music technology program while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 18 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. Approximately 1,900 students from a broad geographic region attend Saint Francis.