SPH's Center for Continuing Professional Education will expand activities

The Center for Continuing Professional Education at the School of Public Health (SPH) has established a named directorship with a $500,000 initial gift from the professional services firm Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.

David A. Shore is the first Coopers & Lybrand Director of Continuing Professional Education. The Center will expand its outcome measurement research, distance learning, and professional development activities as a result of this gift.

The Center, Shore emphasized, "is deeply committed to education that helps people improve their professional practice. As a place where theory informs practice, and practice informs theory, the Center provides practical opportunities for health professionals so that they leave with the knowledge and skills to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. This same focus is central to Coopers & Lybrand's corporate philosophy."

Shore said that demonstrating the importance and effectiveness of continuing professional education is a priority that he will address under the new directorship. "People want results. Professionals enrolling in our programs want to know that our programs make a difference in their practice. As the director of the program, I want to show professionals that they will get a significant return on the investment they have made in our programs. With the results of outcome measurement studies, we intend to prove that our programs are effective -- that they are not just stimulating and entertaining, but rather change the way in which professionals practice," explained Shore.

Shore said that Coopers & Lybrand's support for the directorship will enable the Center "to significantly expand its scope and outreach." Making SPH education more accessible to students around the world is another priority for the Center.

"Distance learning will strengthen Harvard and the School of Public Health's existing reputation as a provider of world-class continuing professional education to executives everywhere. International professionals and those in rural areas will increasingly participate in and benefit from our unique program because of distance learning," said Shore.

He added: "The technology employed in distance learning also extends and enhances the learning experience for those who attend programs here at the School of Public Health." Students are beginning coursework and reviewing materials before they arrive at Harvard and continuing their study after they leave, according to Shore.

As the founding director of the Center, Shore oversees activities that offer executive education opportunities to thousands of national and international health care leaders annually. Participation in programs, seminars, and conferences has quadrupled so that more than 4,000 students enroll in the continuing professional education programs (lasting from one day to eight weeks) each year. In addition, the Center is once again managing the second international Harvard Conference on Internet and Society, a conference inviting more than 1,000 alumni from the College and professional schools, as well as other leading figures in relevant fields.

Robert B. MacDonald, chairman of Coopers & Lybrand's National Health Care Practice, said the alliance with Harvard's Center for Continuing Professional Education affords the professional services firm an opportunity to work with a like-minded institution toward a common goal. "As health care organizations and practitioners are asked to increase effectiveness while streamlining costs, leadership training is imperative. This partnership brings the knowledge of a prestigious university engaged in substantial health care and policy research together with the field experience of Coopers & Lybrand. It is a prime example of our firm's motto, 'Not just knowledge, know-how,' " McDonald said.

Shore, assistant dean and a member of the faculty of the School of Public Health, has served as director of the Center since 1993; Acting Dean James H. Ware appointed Shore to be executive director of the Center in October 1997. Currently chair of the Council on Continuing Education for the Association of Schools of Public Health, Shore also serves on various advisory boards, including the National Center for Advanced Medical Education, the Health Care Leadership Institute, the International Institute of Convention Management, the Future of Health Technology Institute, the National Center for Genome Resources, and the Federal Agency of Health Care Policy Research.

Shore commented, "The directorship is the result of the commitment that both the School of Public Health and Coopers & Lybrand collectively have demonstrated for continuing professional education. I think that when a firm of such high caliber invests in the Center, it is a powerful expression of confidence in our work."