Publications

Faculty cluster hiring is an innovative strategy that involves recruiting new faculty into multiple disciplines and engaging them in collaborative, interdisciplinary research  across the university. The strategy promises to transform higher education through the development of diverse research teams that will address some of society’s most complex challenges. This report highlights in-depth qualitative research conducted with institutions that have developed cluster hiring programs, and includes case studies and promising practices for university leaders.

Many colleges and universities use a holistic admission process to select students. The practice has become more popular in health fields such as medicine, because it enables schools to evaluate a broader range of criteria important for student success, and to select individuals with the background and skills needed to meet the demands of a transforming health care environment. Until now, the extent to which this admissions practice was being used across schools of other health professions and its  impact  on academic success, diversity, and other outcomes —such as students’ engagement with the community—were largely unknown. This report is the first to examine the nationwide  impact and use of holistic review—a university admissions process that assesses an applicant’s unique experiences alongside traditional measures of academic achievement such as grades and test scores—for students pursuing careers in the health professions. 

This first-of-its kind, comprehensive health workforce profile provides headcounts and available demographic data for providers across health professions in the Cincinnati region. Results are provided for advanced practice nurses, audiologists, community health workers, pharmacists, physical therapists, primary care physicians, registered dietitians, registered nurses, social workers and speech-language pathologists (Note: not all data points were available for all health professions). The report also highlights gaps in the data, and recommendations for better data collection techniques that could improve our understanding of the available health workforce in Cincinnati, and in other urban areas.

Many universities have developed innovative strategies to increase participation of underrepresented groups in STEM and biomedical science fields. This report reviews existing evidence for university diversity strategies, identifies key research gaps, and proposes concrete research actions to improve the evidence base for successful interventions. The results of these actions, if pursued, have the potential to transform the way universities do business, increasing investment in practices that work and helping leaders phase out those that do not.

"Urban Universities: An Action Plan for Transforming the Future Health Workforce" was developed in response to USU/APLU's strategic health workforce recommendations published in 2012.  It is intended to help USU/APLU make progress toward those recommendations as a coalition, and will inform the USU/APLU health agenda for the next few years.  Each of the six high-impact action items articulated in the plan were reviewed and prioritized by presidents and provosts attending a special session of the 8th Annual USU Summer Meeting in Chicago, IL in June 2013. The publication caps nearly six months of effort by USU/APLU Health Action Group members, who were nominated by their presidents and collectively represent all geographic regions and health disciplines.

Health Care Reform has invigorated efforts to reconsider how America’s health system should evolve to better meet the health needs of all. Universities and their academic medical centers have an important role to play, as these institutions often serve as “anchors” for local communities, possessing an unparalleled scale and breadth of resources in education, research, and patient care. This report provides an account of how urban universities are tackling this goal by enhancing and expanding a diverse, culturally sensitive, and well-prepared health workforce to improve health and reduce health disparities in our nation’s cities. The report contains recommendations on what universities need to increase their capacity and effectiveness and to improve the knowledge base for university leaders and policymakers making critical investments in our future health workforce.