Building Sustainable Community Partnerships Into the Structure of New Academic Public Health Schools and Programs

For university-community teaching/research/ service partnerships to be sustainable over the longterm, the interests of both the university and the community must be met. It is crucial for the community to engage in its own identification, assessment, and prioritization of needs and problems to ensure community support and resources.1-3 Communities can often use the technical expertise of academic partners in the various steps required to enhance the health of the community. At the same time, the academic