School of Public Health welcomes new MPH program director

Augusta University School of Public Health Dean Teresa Waters, PhD, and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Jie Chen, PhD, have announced Sarah Wackerbarth, PhD, as the new program director for the school’s Master of Public Health degree offering. Wackerbarth, who was most recently at the University of Kentucky, will begin July 1.

“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Wackerbarth to Augusta University’s School of Public Health as director of our Master of Public Health program,” Waters said. “She brings a remarkable blend of academic leadership, program development expertise and a passion for student success. Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen the MPH program, prepare the next generation of public health professionals and advance our mission to improve health across Georgia and beyond.”

An associate professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health, Wackerbarth brings over 28 years of experience in academic health administration to AU. While at UK, she taught courses in the Master of Public Health and the Master of Health Administration programs.

“I am excited to be able to work with Dr. Waters again,” Wackerbarth said. “It’s an opportunity for me to really play to my strengths. Everything I saw from the faculty to the systems that are already in place, you can really tell they have thought strategically about every little detail. It was designed well all along.”

Wackerbarth brings a unique perspective to public health as she is classically trained as an industrial engineer, having earned a PhD in Industrial Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering: Health Systems and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, all from the University of Wisconsin. Her research focuses on improving the process of care and decision-making in health care settings, and she has published over two dozen studies on decision-making and process improvement.

“Industrial engineers make things better. We focus on efficiency and quality and having technology work for people,” she said. “Those sorts of things are easily applicable in health delivery systems.”

Wackerbarth envisions leveraging Augusta’s rich partnership with Wellstar MCG Health and community initiatives, as well as those on campus with the Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Cancer Center, Dental College of Georgia, College of Education and Human Development and College of Allied Health Sciences, to expand opportunities for AU’s MPH students, especially working professionals seeking flexible, career-enhancing programs. Committed to enhancing online public health training, Wackerbarth plans to integrate real-time feedback tools within courses.

“I am excited to hear all the positives, but also to listen for points of frustration. Those are usually items where people are interested in doing a little extra work to help me make some improvements,” Wackerbarth said.

Wackerbarth is the most recent addition to the faculty of AU’s School of Public Health. Jeffrey Gordon, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Health Management, Economics, and Policy, joined the school in April from Mercer University; Sejong Bae, PhD, inaugural chair for the Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology, joined in May from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and Aaron Kruse-Diehr, PhD, inaugural chair for the Department of Community and Behavioral Health Sciences, joined at the beginning of June from the University of Kentucky.