Published on March 4, 2019 by Katie Stripling  
pendulum

The executive committee of Samford University’s Board of Trustees approved new academic programs and faculty at their meeting on February 26.

A new Doctor of Public Health program was tentatively approved, pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and additional programmatic and fiscal review by the Samford administration. The Doctor of Public Health is a six-semester interdisciplinary post-graduate program that will equip graduates with high level competencies in management, innovation and communications so that they are prepared to assume leadership roles in the health sector. Students in the program will choose a concentration in health management and policy or population health analytics and decision making.

Trustees also approved four certificate programs in Cumberland School of Law including financial services/regulatory compliance, health law policy, higher education law and compliance and legal project management. The certificate programs are offered online and can be completed in as little as one year of part-time study. 

Four faculty appointments were affirmed in Howard College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health Professions, Ida Moffett School of Nursing and School of Public Health. Tuition and fees for 2019-2020 were also approved.

In a series of reports by university administrators, trustees heard updates on athletics, student recruitment, advancement, university marketing, and progress on the campus master plan. The advancement report noted that as of February 15, more than $161 million has been given or pledged to the $300 million Forever Samford campaign. As of December 31, 2018, the university’s endowment was valued at $277.2 million. 

The next full meeting of the Samford University Board of Trustees is May 7, 2019.
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.