practice strategic plan 2022-2028
Progress Tracker
The Gillings School six-year practice strategic plan, approved in July 2022, provides a roadmap for action. Gillings elevates practice as equal with research and teaching to help make North Carolina the healthiest state in the nation and to advance health globally.
The practice vision, goals and strategies were developed by the Gillings Practice Task Force after interacting with over 175 people across faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, and stakeholders. The interactive progress tracker provides periodic updates about the steps we have taken to make a meaningful difference in health equity and outcomes.
Updated August 2026.
1
Improve the structure and align roles of practice.
GOAL:
Clearly identified and sufficiently resourced entity responsible for catalyzing faculty, student, and staff engagement at the intersection of research, academics and practice.
PROGRESS
Strategy 1A
Establish clear leadership for practice.
Progress summary
This effort has been successfully completed.
Project details
- As of January 2026, Dorothy Cilenti was named the associate dean for practice. Amy Lanou, PhD, continues to serve as the director of the North Carolina Institute of Public Health (NCIPH) and Vaughn Upshaw, DrPH, EdD is chair of the Public Health Leadership and Practice department.
- Internal and external committees, such as the Practice Advisory Committee and Practice Coordinating Committee, are collaborating with the practice team as well as other academic institutions and external partners to ensure ability to achieve the Practice Strategic Plan goals.
Strategy 1B
Expand NCIPH's role to be the key platform for organized practice efforts at Gillings.
Progress summary
This effort has been successfully completed.
Project details
- In October 2023, the Gillings School created a new department to combine the Public Health Leadership Program (PHLP) and NCIPH. This will elevate PHLP to a department status and allow NCIPH to connect with the school on a deeper level which will lead to more sustainable funding opportunities. The department was named Public Health Leadership and Practice.
- As of August 2026, NCIPH has further expanded its role as the Gillings School’s primary infrastructure for organized practice efforts. Through workforce development programs, technical assistance, grants and contracts support, training initiatives, and strategic partnerships, NCIPH works with faculty, staff, students, and public health organizations to advance the Practice Strategic Plan and strengthen public health capacity in North Carolina and beyond.
2
Prioritize and implement key recommended practice initiatives.
GOAL:
Implement innovative, defined practice initiatives to help Gillings actualize our vision for practice and make a measurable difference in improving health equity and health outcomes.
PROGRESS
Strategy 2A
Create/sustain public health partnership hub(s) with defined communities in N.C.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- In 2023, the Gillings School built relationships with four health departments in Cumberland, Durham, Halifax and Jackson counties. The four communities will be our pilot public health partnership hubs. The Hub was proposed by the Gillings School to provide high intensity support and resources for five to ten years with these well-defined communities.
- As of August 2026, the Hub initiative has expanded its impact across Cumberland, Durham, Halifax, and Jackson counties. Three Community Hub Coordinators support partnership activities by collaborating with community organizations to address locally identified health priorities. Hub Coordinators serve as liaisons between communities and the Gillings School, bringing together faculty, staff, students, and community partners to support community-engaged projects, classroom collaborations, technical assistance, and other initiatives that leverage academic and community expertise.
- Gillings students have completed approximately 8,400 hours of work through practica, internships, capstones, and course-based projects over the past three years. Hub Coordinators have connected with more than 50 organizations and currently support over 30 active community partnerships.
Strategy 2B
Develop/sustain coordinated resilience/response capacity to PH emergencies.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- In 2023, the Gillings School has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a five-year work plan for a Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) coordinating center, to be established in 2024 through a competitive CDC Notice of Funding Opportunity. The associate dean for practice will lead the planning efforts along with a group of Gillings School experts in NCIPH and the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center (CSCC).
- As of September 2024, the Gillings School, in collaboration with NCIPH, was selected to receive a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a Regional Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR), with the goal of enhancing public health preparedness and response across the southeastern United States. This center is one of ten centers serving the entire country to support the uptake of evidence-based strategies that strengthen public health emergency preparedness and response nationwide.
- The Region 4 Center continues to connect academic research with practice-based expertise to apply evidence-based strategies and interventions across communities to enhance their ability to prepare for and respond to public health threats.
Strategy 2C
Advocate for academic health departments across N.C.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- As of January 2026, the NC Public Health Academic Practice Network has continued to meet regularly and work together to improve practice opportunities for students and faculty including implementation of more academic health departments (AHDs).
- The Practice Unit and NCIPH have formalized an AHD agreement with the NC Division of Public Health.
- Faculty from the PHLP department have begun collaborating on the Region 5 Academic Health Department (R5AHD). It is composed of all local health departments (LHDs) in Region 5 (Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Guilford, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham) and it is the first attempt to pursue an AHD at the regional level. The initial convening of this group with a variety of faculty from UNC and practitioners from Region 5, occurred in May 2026.
Strategy 2D
Create a public health collaborative to address complex problems.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- As of August 2026, the Gillings School continues to respond to community requests, offer workshops, raise funds for practica, and stay connected with state government while adapting to changes in policy at the federal level.
- The Practice Unit has supported the NC Rural Health Transformation Program through the creation of the Gillings Matrix Team, coordinating with community partners, and submitting proposals that build on the work of the Gillings School.
3
Fund practice from a variety of sources.
GOAL:
Strategic plan for practice will be fully funded with a diversified mix of federal, state, local governmental investments, private support and grants and contracts.
PROGRESS
Strategy 3A
Coordinate a Resource Development Workgroup to develop a phased funding strategy to implement the strategic plan.
Progress summary
This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.
Project details
- The Practice Unit is working with the finance office and advancement team at the Gillings School to create a resource development group and develop a funding plan for each strategy in the Practice Strategic Plan.
Strategy 3B
Diversify funding.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project Details
- As of January 2025, NCIPH and the Practice Unit have partnered to receive funding opportunities from local health departments, NC A&T State University, the Center for Disease Control, NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Division of Public Health.
Strategy 3C
Assess feasibility of systematically tracking practice expenditures.
Progress summary
This effort is in the startup.
Project Details
- In collaboration with Strategic Analysis and Business Intelligence (SABI) and the Finance Office at the Gillings School, the Practice Unit is tracking their current investments and practice and looking for ways to show impact.
4
Incentivize practice to enable more faculty, staff and students to engage.
GOAL:
Expanded and improved set of incentives will be fully operational in supporting faculty and staff engagement with public health practice partners.
PROGRESS
Strategy 4A
Expand and sustain all forms of incentives.
Progress summary
This effort has been successfully completed.
Project details
- With assistance from the Practice Coordinating Committee, the Practice Unit has begun to analyze academic promotion criteria and determine how Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) Guidelines can be updated at the school and department level to better recognize practice work.
- This work was completed with the leadership of Innovation@Gillings. The PHLP department has become an example of using practice activities for APT, and all other departments have reviewed and updated their Guidelines.
Strategy 4B
Reduce barriers.
Progress summary
This effort is in the startup.
Project details
- The 2024-2029 Research Strategic Plan was released in March 2024. Conversations between the associate dean of practice and the associate dean of research have begun to align initiatives and increase practice-based research and community engagement.
5
Measure contributions and communicate our story.
GOAL:
Develop infrastructure to systematically collect, analyze, review, report, communicate and use data on practice activities and impact on improving the public's health.
PROGRESS
Strategy 5A
Clearly define measures to track practice activities and impact.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- As of June 2024, the Practice Unit has reviewed measures with the assistant dean for strategic analysis and business intelligence. Measures will continue to be evaluated to meet the needs of the Gillings School.
Strategy 5B
Develop a process for collecting, analyzing and reviewing measures and data on practice.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- Many units within the Gillings School continue to work together to collect data through annual services and review measures on an annual basis.
Strategy 5C
Create a dynamic reporting platform and communication plan.
Progress summary
This effort is progressing as planned.
Project details
- In collaboration with the Communications and Marketing Team at Gillings, the Practice Unit is working with faculty and staff to “Tell the Practice Story” through news articles, podcasts, social media, etc.
- As of August 2026, the Gillings School is working with campus partners, like the Carolina Center for Public Service, to make community-based practice and research projects more readily available to the public.
