text: Wilmington College students have increased academic offerings available with the emergence of several incubator programs starting this fall. One of those new major concentrations is public health, which will be taught in a hybrid modality by a combination of Wilmington College faculty and instructors nationwide.
  President Corey Cockerill said the College is “absolutely thrilled to engage these new academic opportunities for our students.”
  Representatives from the faculty, Office of Admission and a team of data analysts worked together to identify several new academic programs that align well with the mission, vision and core values of the institution, as well as job market demand, she noted.
  “The goal of the incubator approach is to test and evaluate the demand for these programs over time to ensure they are in the best interest of Wilmington College students,” Cockerill added. “This approach also gives us the chance to add full-time faculty positions in high-demand career fields.”
  The College is partnering with Rize Education, which specializes in online education programs. This dynamic allows the College to establish and cultivate new and emerging academic programs.
  The field of public health involves the art and science of helping improve a population's health. It ranges from headline-grabbing infectious disease response to the utilitarian world of seatbelt laws, and from fresh air and fresh drinking water to the fight to decrease infant mortality rates. The curriculum features courses taught in classrooms on the main campus that are complemented by online classes instructed by experts from The World Health Organization and others with expertise on the real-world problems facing our planet. These courses will be taught using state-of-the-art and project-based coursework.
  Careers in public health include health education specialists, healthcare administrators and public health advisers, With experience, those positions could evolve into health and safety engineers, health services managers and epidemiologists.
  Dr. Nicole Wilkes, assistant professor of criminal justice, said studying public health equips students with a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary knowledge and hands-on skills essential for addressing contemporary public health issues. “This field not only promises a diverse range of employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, such as healthcare management, health policy and government agencies, but is expected to see significant growth in job opportunities.”
  Another faculty member, Dr. Lindsay Mattern, assistant professor of biology, added that public health offers an “exciting opportunity” for students interested in this growing field. “Public Health fits well with Wilmington College's core values, providing students with the knowledge and skills to improve the world around them through changes in local and global health policies and programs.“
  Pamela Walker-Bauer serves as health commissioner for the Clinton County Health District. She was “excited and hopeful” to learn about the College’s new concentration. She cites a critical need for public health professionals now and into the future.
  “Just in our small rural organization, we have lost over 120 years of public health experience from retirements since the COVID emergency response efforts began in 2020. In the next three to five years, the Clinton County Health District is expected to lose another 80-plus years of public health experience, including two leadership officials.
  “This educational opportunity at the College will be essential in replenishing the local public health force, as well as the entire public health field.”