Our Department's Guiding Principles

Professional ethics

Sharing a deep conviction of the worth and dignity of the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, we are guided by the responsibility of developing our own and our students’ scholarly competence (AAUP, 1987).

Personal ethics, integrity, and responsibility

The importance of integrity and responsibility in all academic activities, striving to offer and model honesty, dependability, trust, and leadership.

Professional responsibility

Thoughtful acceptance of the roles and responsibilities of the professional, including stewardship, service, leadership, and responsibility to the common good. Commitment to the core values of the American Public Health Association’s code of ethics: 1) belief in the independence of people and between people and their environment; 2) the importance of addressing root causes of health and illness; 3) the utility of the scientific method for gaining information; and 4) the importance of acting on reliable information (Thomas et al, 2002).

Relevance and participation

"Starting where the people are" with felt needs and concerns, and working with both individual and community needs and assets (Nyswander, 1956). The process by which individuals and groups assume responsibility for their own health and welfare and that of the community, and develop the capacity to contribute to their own and the community’s development (World Health Organization, 1979).

Intergenerational perspectives

Understanding and valuing the reciprocal interdependence of all phases of the life course and all generations of a group or community.

Inclusive and respectful language

Commitment to thinking, speaking, and writing in language that is inclusive and respectful, continually freeing our words of exclusive conventions (i.e. the male pronoun) and unwarranted assumptions (e.g. heterosexuality), while remaining open to ever expanding and more accurate ways of describing populations, groups, and events.

Critical thinking and dissent

The ability to question and explore freely and the environment that values discussion, discourse, and dissent as signs of "a vigorous democracy in a n open society" (per Nyswander, 1965).

Collaborative achievement

An orientation to work that values effort, contribution, and achievement through non-competitive and collaborative effort of individuals, groups, teams, and partners.

Civic engagement

Active participation in the public life of a community in an informed, committed, and constructive manner with a focus on the common good (Gottlieb and Robinson, 2002)

Empowerment

A social action process that promotes participation of people, organizations, and communities towards the goals of increased individual and community control, political efficacy, improved quality of life, and social justice (Wallerstein, 1992).

Appropriate technology

Commitment to the selection of appropriate technologies (i.e. best processes, tools assessment methods, communications, information systems) that address and advance academic priorities, lifelong learning, and community health.

Global perspectives

Understanding issues, situations, and potential solutions from a global perspective, aware that "our star is not the only star, just the nearest" (Lorde, 1977).

Systems thinking and the ecological approach

Thought which focuses on recognizing the interconnectedness between the parts of a system and synthesizing them into a unified view of the whole, (Anderson & Johnson, 1977). The ecological approach focuses on agent, host, and environmental detriments of health at the individual, group, organizational, community, and global levels. The approach is applied in understanding the social, behavioral, and biological detriments of health and health disparities; assessing and promoting community health; controlling non-communicable diseases, and development and administration of health services and policy.

Partnership

Formal relationships between the university and community agencies dedicated to strengthening the circle of theory and practice, training, skilled and sensitive new professionals, and contributing to community health goods.

Compassion

A key asset of health-oriented professionals, including empathy, an open heart, and respect for experience, words, and silences.

That which is not given away is lost

The commitment to the academic tradition as a community asset, nurtured and "owned" by the community from which they came, and capable of encouraging health and response-ability in others. Understanding that we have a responsibility to actively share and disseminate insight, skills, tools, and products from our academic efforts to a wide range of potential stakeholders. Our value lies not in what we achieve for ourselves, but in what we offer to others.