As our name changed, so did my attitude

So, I haven't been on in awhile and I almost rarely write on this thing anymore unless I am out of the country. There has been talk of trying to make blogging a part of the curriculum but honestly, is it fun if it's required? I contest - no.

Our school changed it's name recently from UNC School of Public Health to the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Did someone give enough money to buy their name on the sign, you ask? Yes, indeed. Now, I scoffed when football stadiums began changing their names to suit donors, and gaffawed when bowl games became the "Tostitos Bowl", etc but honestly - a public school? Is that necessary? And the great part is that they keep telling us we have a say in what goes on in our school....really? Is that why we got a say in asking for the $50 million or where it was supposed to go? Is that why we were asked only after the decision was finalized and it was too late for any retrospective action, what we thought about the new situation?

My favorite part of the whole ordeal is that I, along with my classmates, got stuck in the middle. I applied and got into the School of Public Health. The group before us graduated with that name on their diploma. The group after us came in knowing it would be Gillings School of Global Public Health and that name will appear on their diploma. What about those of us who applied under one name and got stuck with the new one? I don't want that name on my diploma, that isn't the school I applied to!

It got stressed over and over again last week at the unveiling ceremony that we were the first school to put "Global" in our name. Is that what it took? Do you think that London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wasn't Global? Do you think that England regularly gets tropical diseases as a major cause of morbidity or mortality? I contest - no!

What about those of us who are planning on working domestically? Sure, I love working globally but with family health the way it is and travel as frequent as it is, it's not my cup of tea for the longterm with the idea of starting a family as well. In fact, the number of positions that are actually available out there that give good long term benefits and include travel are few and far between. I'm not saying that internationally we don't need a ton of help and that the US and UN budgets couldn't delegate more to aid for other countries but my problem with this 'Global' focus in our name is this: We need to be looking to teach and employ both domestic workers and international workers in Public Health if this system is going to work properly. I have no problem with incorporating international material into courses but there needs to be a domestic focus that isn't lost in all of this. I have a feeling over the next few years, we will see less and less of it and more of a push toward going "Global".

And for the kicker. They want us to do our practicums either globally or globally focused but None, and I repeat NONE of the new $50 million goes toward student travel in order to do that. Instead the money is mainly concentrated in innovation labs....innovation labs that are only used by two main departments in our entire school. Well - what about Maternal and Child Health, what about Public Health Leadership, what about Health Policy? And the week before the unveiling, all of a sudden, all of the construction that was going on in the building, suddenly cleared and there was landscaping and there were pictures on the wall. Coincidence? Again, I contest - no. It was done for the donor's sake and not the students'. Nice to see we are appreciated.

For the past two weeks, we have had brown tape over the "Gillings School of Global Public Health" on all the doors until the great unveiling happened. Can I get that same brown tape to put on my diploma?