Seventeen students representing multiple Duke University disciplines from business to engineering to theology comprise DGHI’s student council for the 2014-2015 academic year. These elected members are undergraduates majoring and minoring in global health, medical students and graduate students pursuing the Master of Science in Global Health degree. They will work to share student concerns and successes with DGHI administration.
During their monthly meetings, the student council discusses student interests in global health, reviews the institute’s activities, identifies new global health programs, and participates in the institute’s work to ensure DGHI programs meet the needs of the student body. The current student council has identified the need for pre-identified system for advising DGHI leadership in a constructive manner.
“The student council creates a sustainable mechanism for serving as the liaison between the student body and DGHI faculty by providing a platform for student ideas and input,” said Sofia Stafford, undergraduate chair of the student council. “It is important for students to harness the incredible opportunities that are available to us and the student council allows for our ideas to shape the global health program.”
Additionally, the student council will fulfill its mission through the formation of four sub-committees, each with four members to address advising, mentoring, cross-campus partnerships, and a case competition.
The advising committee will work to better communication between students and DGHI administration through regular discussions with Michael Russell and Laura Bey, who sit on the council to facilitate the flow of students communication to DGHI leadership. The mentoring sub-committee seeks to become a resource for students who are interested in global health research, ensuring that students at each level (undergraduate, masters, professional, medical, doctoral) have access to global health resources. The cross-campus partnerships will foster multidisciplinary collaborations and ensure that students in every school are exposed to DGHI. Lastly, the case competition sub-committee will further the collaborations across different academic silos and bring awareness to DGHI through the public competitions.
DGHI student council members encourage other DGHI students to reach out them with global health questions or ideas for ways the student council might better serve the student population. Visit the DGHI Student Council page to email any of the members directly.
