Building sustainable community partnerships into the structure of new academic public health schools and programs

We describe and assess how the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia, established in 2005, has developed formal institutional mechanisms to facilitate community-university partnerships that serve the needs of communities and the university. The College developed these partnerships as part of its founding; therefore, the University of Georgia model may serve as an important model for other new public health programs. One important lesson is the need to develop financial and organizational mechanisms that ensure stability over time. Equally important is attention to how community needs can be addressed by faculty and students in academically appropriate ways. The integration of these 2 lessons ensures that the academic mission is fulfilled at the same time that community needs are addressed. Together, these lessons suggest that multiple formal strategies are warranted in the development of academically appropriate and sustainable university-community partnerships.