2022 Biostats Departmental Retreat
After extensive preparation by a Planning Committee co-chaired by Profs. Ying Wei and Todd Ogden, our entire departmental faculty and key staff members conducted an in-depth discussion on September 1, 2022, about the current state of affairs in all major areas and deliberated on ways forward for the department. This retreat was well attended. Its particular goals were to assess comprehensively where we are as a department, to chart ways to overcome any existing challenges, and to better position the department as a leader in our field. A dinner reception at the end of the retreat provided a most welcome opportunity to network and reconnect with each other. Based on core areas of focus that were identified at the end of the retreat, seven working groups (with faculty Chairs in parentheses) were established to
- Distinguish between the PHDS (Public Health Data Science) and the TM (Theory and Methods) tracks (Profs. Yifei Sun, Min Qian)
- Improve the quality of Core/Required courses and teaching support (Prof. Todd Ogden)
- MS advising and Practicum Project and student support (Profs. Qixuan Chen, Caleb Miles)
- Ph.D program (Prof. Jeff Goldsmith)
- Research Resource and Support (Prof. Ying Wei)
- Revisit Incentive policy (Prof. Kiros Berhane)
- Collaboration Models (Prof. Shing Lee)
After these Working Groups report back to the faculty by early 2023, the Retreat Planning Committee will regroup and identify priorities for implementation.