Media releases

• Brock launches Canada’s first concurrent MBA MPH degree program

  Friday, May 03, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 3 May 2019 – R00075

  Starting this fall, Brock University is launching Canada’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Public Health (MPH) concurrent degree program.

  Offered through the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and the Goodman School of Business, the two-year program will help develop tomorrow’s health leaders providing students with a strong foundation in both management and public health.

  “The MBA MPH blends the best of business and public health education,” says Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes. “The need for public health officials to have solid business backgrounds is becoming more and more important, and Brock is looking to fill that gap with this program that is relevant to today’s health administration environment.”

  During the first year of the program, students will be on campus taking core MBA courses. For the second year, students will take MPH courses delivered online.

  “Brock’s MPH and MBA graduate programs are both internationally recognized,” says Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Dean Peter Tiidus. “Both programs overlap in extremely relevant and timely ways.

  “Taking an interdisciplinary approach to launch Canada’s first concurrent MBA and MPH degree program means we can offer a well-rounded approach to learning about public health administration.”

  The program also includes a mandatory six-month internship offered through the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

  “Current health innovations are dynamic and ever-changing,” says MPH Graduate Program Director Brent Faught. “We have a civil responsibility to prepare our graduates not just for the careers of today, but the vocations of the future in public health management. The practical experience gained through the MPH internship helps to keep our students a step ahead.”

  The MBA MPH program also addresses the challenges of providing optimal care in a manner that is operationally self-sustainable, says Goodman’s Graduate Program Director Carrie Kelly.

  “This program will generate personal and professional fulfilment for our students and respond to the growing need for graduates who can lead the charge in re-imagining management in public health,” she added.

  More information on the program can be found on the Goodman website.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• Indicators point toward worse Great Lakes flooding than 2017

  Friday, May 03, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 2 May 2019 – R00074

  Record-high lake levels led to devastating flood damage in Great Lakes coastal communities in 2017, but in the two years since, little has changed.

  Brock University Professor of Biology and UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability Liette Vasseur said those communities are in for serious flooding this year.

  And she says despite knowing it was coming, our complacency as a society has meant that we’re not only ill-prepared, but we’ve made things worse on ourselves.

  “The pragmatism people have is that it’s all about today. Nobody thinks about the future,” she said. “We knew this was going to happen. All the signs were there.”

  Vasseur is an internationally recognized expert in the field of coastal flooding and climate change adaptation and is currently leading a research project examining the impacts of the 2017 flooding and what could have been done to change the outcomes.

  She’s been carefully watching the rising lake levels and said Lake Erie, for example, hit a record high in late April.

  Vasseur said the explanation can be found in a number of areas such as the control level plan for the Great Lakes and heavy snowfall and spring rainfall for some regions, but she said the decisions of municipalities and residents are having a major impact.

  “There are climate drivers, but what doesn’t help is the fact that people are building close to rivers and lakes,” she said. “These are dynamic systems. The human component is very important. You remove wetlands and pave over other areas so with heavy rainfall, the water has to go somewhere else.”

  Vasseur said even after the devastating floods two years ago, municipalities have continued to allow projects to be built in these sensitive areas.

  “It’s quite obvious to me that we didn’t learn the lessons,” she said.

  Vasseur’s recommendation is for residents living near coastlines to invest in waterproofing measures, and for municipalities to start creating buffer zones along rivers and lakes. Adaptation measures are badly needed. For some, it may even be to move from their residence, she said.

  While those steps won’t stop the effects of climate change, they will at least help to lessen the impact on communities and infrastructure.

  “We need to start bringing more of the natural components that can help with these storms like recreating wetlands and marshes,” she said.

  Brock Professor Liette Vasseur is available for interviews on the subject.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases