Office of Sustainability

The field of public health covers a diverse workforce, including policy, health care, clean water, clean air, infectious disease, and the environment. Offered by the College of Veterinary Medicine, the minor is offered to students in all majors and disciplines. The curriculum provides students with a broad understanding of the diversity of the public health field, socio-economic factors that influence access to healthcare, and determinants of disease. Emphases include obesity, diabetes, drug addiction, and infant mortality, which require policies, program funding, and sustained commitment at the local, national, and global levels.

The Auburn University Medical Clinic makes accessible the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and booster shots to all current students, faculty, and staff. Offering ample antigen and COVID-19 testing, the Medical Clinic also provides a sentinel testing program that includes incentives for completion. The clinic also offers contact tracing program for students to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Professionals from the Auburn University Medical Clinic work closely with Auburn University to create safe guidelines for the university’s faculty, staff, and students.

The Alabama Rural Health Association (ARHA) focuses on activism, research, and philanthropy to help combat the health issues suffered by those living in rural Alabama. The ARHA strives to spread awareness, raise funds, and support the Harrison College of Pharmacy in establishing a community health and education center located in the center of a community. The ARHA offers support to rural hospitals, clinics, health and education centers, and industry partners. The ARHA works to provide an accurate definition and depiction of rurality, so the group can spread awareness and advocate for policy supporting the health and well-being of those in rural areas.

The purpose of TigerCHAT (Community Health Awareness and Training) is to impact child health through a 12-week, school-based health education curriculum focused on nutrition, respiratory health, and mental health. The program serves 3rd to 6th grade students in three rural schools. TigerCHAT produced significant increases in nutritional knowledge and decreases in sedentary time. Enhanced education for rural children strengthens their health and wellbeing, thus empowering them to pursue a better future for themselves and their communities. The program is conducted by researchers and students in the College of Nursing.

Dr. Felicia Tuggle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University. As an engaged scholar, her research focuses on the role of social work education and practice in facilitating sustainable community development. Dr. Tuggle co-founded Global Development Solutions Lab with her colleagues Drs. Kelly Krawczyk and Peter Weber to integrate teaching, outreach, and research in the sub-disciplines of nonprofit studies, philanthropy, and social work and to apply and translate this teaching, outreach, and research into practice to empower citizens on the ground to be civic agents that can solve community problems and facilitate social development using participatory, empowering, equitable, rights-based, and sustainable approaches.

Located in Northwest Auburn, the clinic offers health care services for Auburn residents who are uninsured, underinsured, or prefer proximal access to health care. The clinic allows students from diverse health care disciplines to collaborate to provide a broad range of wellness and primary health services. Administered by the Harrison College of Pharmacy, the clinic serves as an education and training center, offering a site for Auburn University students from multiple disciplines to engage with each other and learn how to treat patients from a variety of backgrounds in a real-life setting. Dr. Richard Hansen, Dean of the Harrison College of Pharmacy, says, “This clinic is perfectly aligned with our land grant mission of serving the people of Alabama.”