School community members encouraged to register global travel
| October 10, 2011 | |
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Faculty members and students at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health study, conduct research and serve around the world, sometimes in challenging locations or during unexpected crises. Their safety – and the capability to contact them in the case of emergency – is a primary concern of UNC and the public health school.
Francesca Florey
“Those planning to travel abroad first should familiarize themselves with the UNC travel policy,” said Francesca Florey, director of the public health school’s Office of Global Health. “Then we encourage students, faculty and staff to review information our office has presented on our Web pages. This information lays out procedures for determining whether the country to which you want to travel requires a special waiver or whether you can even travel there at all. You will also find information about medical evacuation insurance and the process for registering with the U.S. embassy.” 
Dr. Peggy Bentley
“The public health school’s mandatory student travel tracking database, administered through its Office of Global Health, has been an important tool to help us contact our students abroad when world events or family emergencies arise,” said Peggy Bentley, PhD, associate dean for global health at the public health school. “I think it has been reassuring to the students as well to know that their school is keeping up with their whereabouts.” Thanks to the work of a task force formed by the Office of the Provost, on which Bentley has served, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has launched a university-wide travel registry, hosted by UNC Global. Now all students traveling abroad will be required to register university-related trips, and faculty and staff members are encouraged to, as well.
“Just since we began this process, we’ve needed to contact students in Mexico, Haiti, Egypt and Japan,” said Ron Strauss, DMD, PhD, executive associate provost and chief international officer at UNC. “We want to be able to reach out quickly to UNC faculty, staff and students who might be in a crisis area and find out whether they are okay and determine what we can do to help them in the short- and long-term. This new registry will make it more possible to maintain the safety and health of our global community.”
Public health students who have questions about University travel policy or other issues related to study abroad may contact the School’s Office of Student Affairs (sph-osa@unc.edu, 919-966-2499).
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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