Board approves new master's program

Grand Valley's Board of Trustees approved establishing a master's of public health degree program at its April 29 meeting.

Housed in the College of Health Professions, the program will begin in the fall 2013 semester. Provost Gayle R. Davis said the approval process was expedited due to demand for the program, as 22 students have expressed interest in enrolling for the fall semester.

Roy Olsson, dean of the College of Health Professions, said the program will be divided into three emphases: epidemiology, health promotion and health administration. Olsson said the program is designed to accommodate a cohort of 60 students.

Public health professionals work in both the public and private sectors. There are a variety of jobs available: food safety inspectors, health educators, policy analysts, epidemiologists, researchers and many more.

Earlier in April, President Thomas J. Haas approved two new minors: an LGBTQ minor, housed in Women and Gender Studies, and German Secondary Education, housed in Modern Languages and Literatures. The minors were also announced at the meeting.