WE ARE BACK!!
The start of the Fall 2010 semester is in full swing and the excitement of another academic year at East Carolina University is upon us! It’s always exciting to see the new set of students and the returning students come back to ECU. They are filled with energy, enthusiam, optimism, and uncertainty — all of which is natural when we all start a new phase of our lives.
This fall semester, I am teaching my regular rotation of two classes — Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 2200) – an undergraduate course AND Global Public Health (MPH 6007) – a graduate course. With regards to my Cultural Anthropology course, I always enjoy teaching this course because we can discuss so many cultural topics that hopefully relates to many of the students in some form or fashion. This is also a course that I have been teaching for over 23 years at various universities and each semester I fine-tuned it to meet the interests of the current students taking this course. One thing for sure about this course over the years, students are ready to learn so much about the world yet need encouragement, motivation and innovative teaching to inspire them to take that chance.
As for my Global Public Health course (MPH 6007), I have been teaching this course online for the past 3 years! I thoroughly enjoy producing this course online because it allows me to create new ways of lecturing via podcasts/webcasts as well as in developing innovative ways for students to interact with each other online. The course topics of this Global Public Health course are always very timely and connect all of us with the world health issues throughout the entire semester. Each year, I get more students who have been waiting all of their academic career to learn about other country’s public health issues. We need to recognize the IMPORTANCE of global health issues to each graduate student that we train here at ECU and universities in the United States. Our students want it and they deserve it.
Finally, I am also starting our Ethnic and Rural Health (ERHD) Graduate Certificate Online Program this fall semester. It’s an exciting start and we feel that it will make a significant impact in the graduate training of future public health and medical professionals in the U.S. and around the world.
Yes… I am Back and ready to Go!