Memo
To:
University of Saskatchewan Faculty, Staff and Students
From:
Ernie Barber, Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic
Date:
May 15, 2015
Subject:
Results of the School of Public Health Review
As outlined in the Framework for Assessment: Beyond Systematic Program Review (2008), review of the various
academic, administrative and operational units that comprise the University of Saskatchewan is of upmost
importance and demonstrates the university’s continued commitment to ensuring that programming and
services are of the highest quality. In particular, when the three graduate schools were created in 2007, a
commitment was made to conduct a review approximately five years after inception to help ensure their
continued alignment with our institutional goals and objectives. In line with this commitment, the School of
Public Health (SPH) recently underwent an external review, which was commissioned by my office. This project
has reached a point where the external review report has been finalized and shared with SPH. Further to this,
and in accordance with University of Saskatchewan’s guidelines for reviews, SPH developed a response to the
recommendations contained in the report which provides a perspective on the findings and outcomes of the
review.
This external review was led by a team of three highly qualified public health academics, in addition to an
internal reviewer from the University of Saskatchewan. Working closely with SPH, a comprehensive list of
possible reviewers was developed that consisted of public health scholars from Canadian and international
institutions that had either free-standing schools of public health or were integrated within a larger
college/school. Consideration was also given to candidates from accredited schools of public health. From this,
the review team was assembled to engage in the review.
Prior to conducting the site visit, the review team was provided with an information package containing the
necessary content to allow them to gain insight into the history, evolution and current status of the school.
Because of the aggressive timelines for the project and the fact that a self-study was recently done by the school
for accreditation of the MPH program, a traditional self-study document was not completed for this review.
However, the information provided was equivalent to what would be included in a self-study. Specifically, the
review team received the following information:
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Previous accreditation documents of the SPH
SPH documents:
 Program factsheets
 Proposals for creation of the school and for each of the three thesis-based programs
 A positioning paper written by SPH leaders
Integrated planning documents of SPH and University of Saskatchewan
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Results of the School of Public Health Review
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Institutional data pertaining to the school’s:
 faculty and staff complement;
 student enrolment and outcomes;
 research activity;
 financial statements;
 thesis-based programs; and
results from surveys completed by staff and faculty, current students and SPH alumni.
Based on the information received and their meetings with stakeholders during the two day site visit, the review
team submitted a report that offered a carefully considered assessment of SPH. Included in the external review
report were numerous strengths of the School of Public Health and the challenges they are currently facing.
Specific recommendations were provided as they relate to the following areas: mission and vision,
organizational structure and governance, academic and educational activities, research activities and
partnerships. In addition to specific recommendations, the external reviewers arrived at one overarching
conclusion: the university cannot sustain two separate public health units with the current level of resources.
They stressed the importance of engaging in a dialogue to determine the best way in which to integrate
Community Health and Epidemiology and the School of Public Health.
Public health is, and will continue to be, extremely important to the University of Saskatchewan and I am
committed to making changes based on the results of the review to ensure the school continues to successfully
align with the university’s teaching and research mission. To this end, a task group will be formed consisting of
stakeholders both internal and external to the School of Public Health, including relevant university leaders,
faculty and students.
I would like to express my gratitude to the external review team members for their comprehensive report and
recommendations: Dr. Kristan Aronson, professor, Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University;
Dr. Craig Janes, director, School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo; and Dr. Beth
Virnig, professor, School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. I would also like to thank the internal
member of the review team for his support and guidance during the two day site visit: Dr. Bob Tyler, professor,
College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan.
It is also important to acknowledge the professionalism and hard work of the faculty, staff and leadership team
of the School of Public Health that was displayed throughout this review process. I look forward to working
together to build a strong future for the school that will ensure a place of preeminence as one of the leaders in
the field of public health education and research.
Lastly, I would like to thank the various members of the university community, as well as external partners, who
took the time to meet with the review team and provide their views and insights. Your input has been invaluable
and will continue to be important as we embark on the next stage of carefully considering the recommendations
and taking appropriate action.
If you have any questions, please contact Lori Auchstaetter at lori.auchstaetter@usask.ca or 306-966-8484, who
will direct your inquires.
Sincerely,
Ernie Barber
Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic