The College of Public Health Alumni Society (CPHAS)

The mission of the Society is to foster interactions between alumni and the College of Public Health (CPH) with a focus on furthering the development of students in both their educations and future career paths. Together we can assist in advancing the broader mission of The OSUAA, Inc., through excellence and leadership in public health.

 

How to Join

Download, complete and submit the membership form.

Join The Ohio State Alumni Association (OSUAA).

Have Questions? Email buckeyes@cph.osu.edu

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Membership Fees

Year Membership: $20

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Benefits

  • Professional networking and collaboration among alumni
  • Social opportunities with alumni and students
  • Mentoring and shaping public health knowledge and practice
  • Opportunity to give back to the College of Public Health
  • Educational Opportunities
  • Eligible for society allocated OSU football tickets

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Annual Alumni Fall Meeting

The College of Public Health Alumni Society held its annual fall meeting and banquet on Sept. 5, 2008, at the Longaberger Alumni House.

CPH Alumni Society President Elect Blake Warner led the evening's events, which included a College of Public Health update by Dean Stanley Lemeshow. The keynote speaker was renowned Ohio State historian Dr. David Hothersall, who provided an illustrated history of The Ohio State University.

The society also presented the Mary Plummer Scholarship to Hanna Park, a first-year MPH student in the Division of Epidemiology; Student Choice Awards to Jason Marion (MS, PhD), Jake Snoble (MPH) and Lisa Saslaw (MPH/PEP); and the William R. Gemma Distinguished Alumnus Award which was given to Kathy Cowen of Columbus Public Health.

The 2009 Fall Meeting will be Friday, September 11 at Graystone Winery. Sign up using the form below:

 Alumni reunion signup form

View photos from the CPH Alumni Society Fall Meeting

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Mentoring Program

The mission of the CPH Alumni Society is "to foster interactions between alumni and the College of Public Health with a focus on furthering the development of students in both their educations and future career paths... through excellence and leadership in public health."

CPHAS is asking its members to help advance the mission statement goals by volunteering to be a mentor for students in our new collaborative mentoring program with OPHA's existing program, GURU (Guidance U Receive by URL).

The time commitment and activities you might engage in are flexible, and could range from regular e-mails and/or telephone conversations, to engaging the student in an introduction to "real-world" public health practice through shadowing you in your workplace.

More than anything, we hope the mentoring will be beneficial to everyone, allowing relationships to flourish between the future public health workforce and agencies that may employ them.

Please consider making a contribution of your time to public health's future colleagues. If you are interested, please visit this website to sign up to be a mentor: http://www.ohiopha.org/index.php?page=Mentor_Program.

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Organized Social Activities

The Alumni Society, in order to meet the needs of the students, hosts quarterly social activities. These activities give students and alumni the chance to interact outside of the classroom and office. We have organized events such as bowling nights, happy hours, tailgating, Columbus Clippers Baseball games, OSU Buckeyes and Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey games, and many more. We look forward to organizing many more! For more information or upcoming events, email buckeyes@cph.osu.edu.

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The Mary Plummer Memorial Scholarship

Mary Plummer was a greatly admired and respected public health professional at the time of her sudden death from a heart attack in November, 1998. She was 45.

The idea of a scholarship fund in Mary's name grew out of the desire of Mary's friends and colleagues to permanently honor and celebrate her life. The fund will provide an annual scholarship to an incoming student enrolled at The Ohio State University College of Public Health who has an interest, as Mary did, in epidemiology.

Mary was the first part-time student to earn a Master of Science degree in preventive medicine from Ohio State, so it is fitting the Mary Plummer Memorial Scholarship is the first endowed scholarship fund in the College of Public Health.

During her 21 years in public service at both the local and state level, Mary was a tireless advocate for underserved and vulnerable populations. She began her career in her hometown of Canton working in the sexually transmitted disease program. After earning her Master's degree and joining the Ohio Department of Health, she produced numerous studies and data analyses on behavioral risk factors, physical activity, smoking, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and wrote the first public health section included in the State Health Resources Plan. Her process for monitoring arthritis and diabetes programs became a model for all preventive health and health services grants throughout the state. She played a key role in building a coalition to create the first county health profiles for Ohio. Mary was the definitive "go to" person for the data, epidemiological, and statistical advice and consultation at the Ohio Department of Health.

In addition to her consummate professionalism, Mary is remembered for her openness and candor, her positive and supportive attitude, an eagerness to assist others, and an unselfish dedication to teaching. She was an avid environmentalist, bird watcher, and advocate for population control.

The Mary Plummer Memorial Scholarship Fund is fitting tribute to a dear friend and colleague.

There is a perpetual plaque signifying winners of this scholarship.

The College of Public Health Alumni Society is dedicated to raising money for the Mary Plummer Scholarship Fund. For more information or ways to donate, please contact:

Lexi Noice
Alumni Relations and Fundraising Coordinator
(614) 293-8264
anoice@cph.osu.edu

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The William R. Gemma Distinguished Alumnus Memorial Award

William R. Gemma devoted his career to improving emergency medical services in the United States and abroad. His achievements spanned a military career where he served in hospital administration; academia where he studied and taught business administration, hospital administration, and health service policy and planning; the U.S. Public Health Service and the private sector.

Bill was one of the first people to receive a Ph.D in preventive medicine from The Ohio State University in 1972. He later served a 2 year term as the first president of the Alumni Society. In 1989, he helped organize and host, on behalf of the Alumni Society, a study tour to Egypt.

Bill died in 1995.

To honor Bill's memory the Alumni Society Board of Directors established the William R. Gemma Memorial Award. This award is given each year at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Society to an alumnus who has distinguished herself/himself by their achievements and contributions in the field of preventive medicine or public health.

Nominee Eligibility:

  • Nominees must be an alumnus of the Ohio State College of Public Health or Department of Preventive Medicine (prior to 1995)
  • Nominees must have worked at least 5 years in the field
  • Nominees cannot be a faculty member at the Ohio State College of Public Health
  • Nominees cannot have previously won the award

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The College of Public Health Outstanding Student Awards

The College of Public Health Alumni Society presents a "Student Choice Award" to the most outstanding student in each of the four programs (MS/PhD, traditional MPH, MPH-Program for Experienced Professionals and MHA) at the spring quarter graduation celebration.

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Public Health Tales from the Field

To better serve the students of the College of Public Health, the Alumni Society sponsors a quarterly public health seminar put on by an alumnus. These seminars give students the chance to hear first hand accounts of alumni who work in the trenches.

View the CPH events calendar to learn about upcoming seminars.

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Donate to the society

To donate to the society, please send a check made out to College of Public Health Alumni Society to:

The College of Public Health Alumni Society
c/o Lexi Noice
320 W 10th Avenue
B107 Starling Loving Hall
Columbus, OH 43210

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Contact information

Contact the alumni office at (614) 293-8264 or buckeyes@cph.osu.edu.

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