Dear ENPH Majors,
Two-thousand eleven has been a banner year for our program, with sustained growth in the number of majors and graduating students, stand-out accomplishments by students and faculty, and exciting new educational and research opportunities.
Spring brought our six-year national reaccreditation visit from the National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC), where visitors reviewed curriculum and student folders, attended ENPH courses (including a field trip to the new student center construction site), and interviewed students. The formal hearing for reaccreditation at the June NEHA meeting in Columbus, OH - where Dr. Pierce gave four research and hands-on presentations - resulted in full reaccreditation, with EHAC members stating that UWEC received the quickest review of all reaccredited programs, and an invitation for Drs. Pierce and Gabel, and Mr. Matt Stein to apply for EHAC board membership.
Spring also brought news that Dr. Pierce was selected as a Fulbright Scholar, to teach environmental health and conduct research at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. During the spring 2012 semester, he will provide guest lectures in a variety of undergraduate, Masters and PhD level courses. In collaboration with UW-Eau Claire Materials Science colleague Dr. Jill Ferguson, Dr. Pierce will administer questionnaires and collect children's hair samples in Finland. Samples will then be sent to UWEC, where ENPH students Caitlin Rosch, Nicole Frankfourth and Alayna Spengler will measure concentrations of arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury under Dr. Ferguson's supervision.
ENPH enrollment reached 55 majors in 2011, higher than in any year since at least 2003; 14 graduating seniors in 2011 similarly topped the previous eight years in graduating class size.
Mr. Matt Stein joined ENPH as an adjunct faculty member in spring 2011, teaching the spring industrial hygiene course and advising students about this exciting new component to the program. Mr. Stein brings a wealth of environmental health background, including employment as an OSHA inspector, safety director for the Ho Chunk Nation, as well as private safety and health consultation. He is currently completing his PhD in industrial hygiene at the University of Minnesota and teaching through the Minnesota Safety Council. Mr. Stein's contributions to the ENPH program will expand in spring 2012 with his teaching of solid and hazardous waste and industrial hygiene, and advising faculty-student research in particulate emissions from sand mines and processing plants.
Spring also brought students Nicole Frankfourth, James Fay, Greg Nelson, Andy Kleist, Dr. Pierce, guest lecturer David Nelson and alumnus Eli Gottfried out in the sunshine to plant a vegetable garden with Lakeshore Elementary School children.
Dr. Christine Gabel joined the Wisconsin Environmental Health Association (WEHA) Conference Planning Committee and continued to represent the ENPH program at spring and fall WEHA conferences. She has also participated in hybrid course design training and will implement this innovative online/in-class style of learning in the spring 2012 semester.
Student Sara Aragon led the successful grant application process and planting of native species test plots at the Veolia 7-Mile Creek Landfill. SNEHA continued its community service with highway cleanup and an informational session on JRCOSTEP internships with Public Health Service representative Tim Duffy.
ENPH Students James Fay, Greg Nelson and Andy Kleist conducted research with Dr. Pierce on particulate and silica emissions from sand mines and processing plants in summer 2011. Intense interest in this issue led to 12 invited presentations to town boards and public forums, quotes in numerous newspapers including the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and interviews with WQOW TV, KARE TV in Minneapolis, and Wisconsin Public Radio.
The October 26 UW-Eau Claire "Let's Do Lunch" presentation on this topic drew the most attendees in the history of this public forum series. Analytical equipment supplier SKC generously donated $4,500 worth of sampling equipment for this project.
The ENPH/SNEHA group took first place in the non-musical marching group competition for the 2011 UW-Eau Claire Homecoming Parade!
Students Amy Zagar and Brittany Whited were chosen as UW-Eau Claire Sustainability interns and are working through the Student Office of Sustainability (SOS) to organize events including the Tour de Chancellor, CFL light bulb swap and the eight-week Food for Thought Film Series.
ENPH Students also gained national recognition, with Rachael Korinek and faculty Matt Stein writing the grant application, and Caitlin Rosch and Mr. Stein attending a fall Radon-Resistant New Construction workshop in Washington, D.C. James Fay was recognized as the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP) Student of the Month for July 2011.
The ENPH Program participated in two pilot general education "bundles" during 2010-2011 and is continuing with this cross-campus collaboration, including ENPH 210 Introduction to Environmental Health in the "What is and should be our relationship with the planet?" bundle for 2011-2012. In addition to providing students with multiple views on important issues such as sustainability, land use, climate change and energy policy, the UW-Eau Claire bundle initiative supported a student retention rate of 99%, compared to a university average of 87%.
Fall semester brought a bed bug workshop taught by Dr. Pierce for the Eau Claire City-County Health Dept. and the first grant-writing workshop for ENPH students, provided by the UW-Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. ENPH Students also pitched in on a joint UWEC-Third Ward Neighborhood Association-City of Eau Claire Tree Planting Grant. 
Spring 2012 will bring another distinction to the program, as ENPH students supervised by Dr. Gabel will again review portions of the NEHA Registered Environmental Health Specialist preparation exam. UW-Eau Claire is the only university in the country given this privilege. Students completing this review will be given full access to the NEHA REHS preparation course and NEHA membership; they will also have the opportunity to take the REHS exam online at the Chippewa Valley Technical College to earn certification.
2011 Has been a remarkable year for the Environmental Public Health Program. With the dedication of ENPH faculty, hard work by ENPH students, and continued support from our environmental health community, 2012 promises to be another important year of growth, new perspectives, and professional development for the program.
Crispin H. Pierce, Ph.D.
Associate Professor / Program Director
Department of Public Health Professions
244 Nursing
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004
(715) 836-5589
