ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
Open Access
DIRECT FROM EHAC
Past, Present, and Future
Leslie D. Mitchell, MNR National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council
Cindy Weckwerth, MS, REHS, MS City of Minneapolis Health Department
Tania Busch Isaksen, MPH, PhD
University of Washington
graduate program at East Tennessee State University in 1969 and its first graduate degree program also at East Tennessee State University in 1977. During the past 37 of our 56 years, more than 15,500 undergraduate and graduate stu- dents have graduated from EHAC-accredited degree programs. Currently, the 36 EHAC- accredited degree programs include 25 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs at 29 colleges and universities nationwide. In total, four of these programs are at histori- cally Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), two programs are at Hispanic-serving institu- tions (HSIs), including one Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (AANAPISI; Table 1). This year we are excited to report newly accredited graduate programs at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Washington. EHAC is led by a council of 21 academi- cians ( n = 11) and practitioners ( n = 10) who are deeply committed to growing a well- trained workforce. Council members bring their significant knowledge and experience to the development and maintenance of accredi- tation criteria, provide review for re-accredit- ing programs and accrediting new programs, and participate on standing committees important to operations within EHAC. The current mission of EHAC is to enhance the education and training of students in environmental health science and protec- tion. Accomplished EHAC-accredited degree program alums provide evidence of success in this endeavor. EHAC accreditation ensures workforce-ready, entry-level practitioners who are well-prepared to support the goals
Editor’s Note: To promote the growth of the environmental health profession and the academic programs that fuel that growth, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) has teamed up with the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC) to publish two columns a year in the Journal . The mission of EHAC is to enhance the education and training of students in environmental health science and protection. Through this column, EHAC will share current trends within undergraduate and graduate environmental health programs, as well as highlight available resources and the efforts to further the environmental health field. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or official position of NEHA. Leslie Mitchell is the executive director of EHAC. Cindy Weckwerth is the director of environmental health for the City of Minneapolis Health Department and serves as the treasurer for EHAC. Dr. Tania Busch Isaksen is a teaching professor at the University of Washington and serves as general chair of EHAC.
G reetings, Journal readers! The board and council members of the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation (EHAC) are grateful to the National Environmental Health Associ- ation (NEHA) for the opportunity to commu- nicate with the environmental public health community via these pages. Now, more than ever, we look to professionals, such as your- selves, to help us improve workforce readiness by hosting interns, mentoring students and early-career practitioners, creating profession- al pathways, and communicating the value of an EHAC education to students and pro- fessionals who are interested in building and maintaining a well-prepared workforce.
The story of EHAC began in the 1960s when leaders in the education and practice of environmental public health identified a significant lack of well-trained practitio- ners, which was impacting the ability of public health jurisdictions to adequately protect the public’s health. To address this deficit, NEHA (then known as the National Association of Sanitarians) authorized in 1967 the establishment of a National Accreditation Council (NAC) to “develop curricular standards for undergraduate pro- grams in environmental health and to assist undergraduate schools with environmental health criteria ” (Hatlen, 1967). NAC (now known as EHAC) accredited its first under-
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Volume 87 • Number 7
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