Three years of advancing academic public health in Marion County
Three years. One partnership. A growing model for academic public health in action
Aug 24, 2026
In January 2023, the IU Indianapolis Fairbanks School of Public Health and the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) formalized an Academic Health Department agreement; an intentional step toward deepening a long-standing relationship into a structured, sustained partnership
An academic health department brings together a health department and an academic institution in a formal affiliation that functions much like the teaching hospital model in medicine. It is designed to reduce the distance between public health education and public health practice. It creates shared spaces where workforce development, applied research and community health improvement can move forward together
Building the infrastructure for collaboration
One of the first major steps following the agreement was the creation of an academic health director position. MCPHD employee Ellie Hansotte, PhD, was appointed to the role, where she serves as a bridge between the two institutions. Designed to strengthen coordination between MCPHD and the Fairbanks School, the position connects practitioners with faculty expertise, identifies opportunities for collaboration and supports the integration of applied public health practice into student learning and research activities.
“Before this structure existed, collaboration often depended on individual relationships and timing,” said Hansotte. “Now, we have a consistent way to bring people together around shared goals. It’s created a stronger connection between what students are learning, what researchers are studying and what communities are experiencing in real time.”
MCPHD has provided ongoing feedback on the skills and competencies students need to be successful in field placements, ensuring that academic preparation is closely aligned with practice expectations. In turn, the IU Fairbanks School has expanded opportunities for students to engage directly with local public health work through internships, shadowing experiences, guest lectures and applied learning opportunities embedded in coursework
For students, the impact of the partnership has become especially visible through direct engagement with public health practice
Connecting students to public health practice
Epidemiology student Danielle Boberschmidt joined MCPHD’s hazardous materials response team for a ride-along. What began as a shadowing opportunity became a firsthand lesson in environmental health, emergency response and cross-sector coordination. Working alongside MCPHD staff, she observed how public health professionals collaborate with law enforcement, respond to community concerns, and manage potential environmental hazards in real time
For Boberschmidt, the experience reshaped her understanding of the field. She reflected on environmental health “working to actively protect the community from any toxic or harmful threats. I hadn’t experienced this side of public health before, and it helped me understand the importance of compliance in environmental health.”
Experiences like this are part of a broader effort to strengthen the connection between academic training and public health practice across Marion County.
That connection was also visible through the inaugural Public Health Showcase, held in November 2025. The event brought together MCPHD practitioners and Fairbanks faculty and staff who collaborate regularly but rarely have dedicated time to step back and share progress
The showcase highlighted the following projects:
- Ending the HIV Epidemic
- Diabetes Impact Project–Indianapolis Neighborhoods (DIP-IN)
- Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG)
- OD2A (Overdose Data to Action)
- Marion County Community Health Assessment
“Collaborations like this help ensure that our teaching, research and service efforts stay directly connected to what is happening in Marion County,” said Nir Menachemi, PhD, MPH, dean and professor at the Fairbanks School. “When we understand MCPHD’s priorities, we are better able to align our efforts with the needs of Marion County where it can have the greatest impact.”
The showcase also reinforced the value of creating intentional space for collaboration. Teams that regularly interact on projects were able to step back and see the full ecosystem of work they are collectively advancing. That shared visibility helped identify new opportunities for guest lectures, student placements, and real-time integration of practice challenges into curriculum and capstone experiences
Outside of formal presentations, MCPHD also opened its operational world to attendees through hands-on engagement, including equipment tours and conversations with emergency preparedness and environmental health staff. These moments offered a reminder that public health is both strategic and operational: rooted in data and policy, but also carried out through field response
Listening to community needs together
Another cornerstone of the partnership has been the Marion County Community Health Assessment (CHA), a recurring, multi-sector effort to evaluate community health needs and inform strategic planning. The CHA brings together quantitative data, community perspectives, and stakeholder input to shape the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which guides health priorities across the county
The most recent assessment highlighted both strengths and persistent challenges in Marion County. Communities across the county demonstrate resilience, leadership and strong informal support networks, including faith-based organizations, recovery groups and neighborhood coalitions. At the same time, the assessment underscored significant barriers in the built environment, with disparities in access to parks, sidewalks, housing and transportation shaping health outcomes across neighborhoods
It also identified broader forces affecting community well-being, including economic instability, rising costs of living and increasing mental health strain. The findings emphasized that while health outcomes are shaped by individual behavior, they are equally shaped by systems: housing, transportation, economic opportunity and trust in institutions
The CHA process itself reflects the partnership’s approach: combining rigorous data analysis with deep community engagement and ensuring that lived experience is central to how health priorities are defined. MCPHD and the Fairbanks School have worked together to strengthen this integration, with an emphasis on multilingual engagement, cross-sector collaboration and recommendations that extend beyond assessment into implementation
Looking ahead
Across these efforts—from student experiences in the field, to system-level convenings, to community-wide assessments—a consistent theme has emerged: the academic health department model is not a static agreement, but an evolving framework for shared action
It has created infrastructure for coordination, but more importantly, it has created a culture of collaboration. Faculty and practitioners are working more closely to align teaching and practice. Students are gaining earlier and more meaningful exposure to public health careers. And MCPHD is able to engage academic expertise in real time as needs emerge across the community
As the partnership enters its next phase, that foundation is expanding
With the addition of a new health department joining the academic health department network, MCPHD and the Fairbanks School are not only reflecting on what has been built over the past three years, they are also helping to shape what comes next. The expansion represents both a recognition of success and an opportunity: to extend the model and continue strengthening the connection between academic public health and the practice of protecting and improving community health
Three years in, the work is still unfolding. But the direction is clear: closer alignment, stronger pipelines between education and practice, and a shared commitment to ensuring that public health in Marion County, and beyond, is both evidence-driven and deeply connected to the communities it serves
For more information about academic health department partnerships, contact Shandy Dearth, MPH, director of the Center for Public Health Practice
Contact Info
Amanda Briggs
Director of Marketing, Communication and Recruitment
(317) 278-0386amanbrig@iu.edu
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PartnershipsMarion County Public Health DepartmentShandy DearthPublic Health PracticeAcademic Health Department PartnershipEllie Hansotte
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