Undergraduate public health research in liberal arts contexts: A model of cross-institutional collaboration

Kuh (2008) identifies undergraduate research as a high-impact practice that provides many benefits to undergraduate students.  One study examining 50 top-ranked liberal arts colleges found that 42% of those schools had a type of public health track/concentration/program (Hill et al., 2012).  However, because public health is a relative newcomer to undergraduate, limited scholarship has focused on models to facilitate institutional collaboration. We describe a unique collaboration between three liberal arts institutions.

The inaugural day-long event was held in fall 2015 at Furman University. Thirty undergraduate students from Furman University, Elon University, and Davidson College were selected to present their public health-related research.  Networking activities were included during breaks and lunch. A well-known public health researcher presented his public health research priorities to invigorate students/faculty to continue and expand participation in public health research.

Students presented research on a broad range of topics from P-glycoprotein expressional changes caused by exposure to radiation to mathematical modeling of Dengue Fever.  Projects were conducted in a variety of settings from the local community to Cape Coast, Ghana and mentored by faculty from various disciplines, including public health, psychology, biology, sustainability sciences, math, geography, business, economics,  exercise science, and creative writing.

This event allowed for students to present in a mini-conference setting and facilitated networking among students who had similar interests while also allowing for faculty and administrators to develop relationships across institutions. The collaboration continues with plans already underway to host the second annual event at Elon University. Further priorities include fostering collaboration on research projects across these institutions and their partnering organizations.  Ultimately, this type of collaboration supports the goals of liberal arts colleges to train students to be cognizant of global problems, to explore current, practical topics from an interdisciplinary lens, disseminate research for a societal impact, and collaborate with others.