Engaging Undergraduate Students: Lessons Learned from New Jersey Public Health Association-Rutgers Student Chapter

New Jersey Public Health Association (NJPHA) is the NJ affiliate chapter of the American Public Health Association (APHA). NJPHA was founded in 1875 and is one of the oldest public health organizations in the United States. Membership includes public health professionals dedicated to improving the health of NJ. Until 2011, NJPHA did not have a student chapter. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (RU), had an undergraduate public health student organization, Public Health Initiative (PHI). In 2010, NJPHA started to collaborate with PHI. PHI approached the NJPHA President to formalize their relationship with NJPHA. NJPHA welcomed this and encouraged them to become the NJPHA-Rutgers Student Chapter (RSC). Currently, NJPHA-RSC is the public health student organization at RU. There is an executive board position for a student on the NJPHA board. Also, NJPHA pays one student membership fee to APHA. This student will become a APHA Student Assembly (APHA-SA) – Campus Liaison Committee member. According to the APHA website, the “campus liaisons play a key role within the APHA-SA by helping to: serve as their school's representative to APHA-SA, disseminate information about APHA-SA to students, faculty, and administration at schools offering health-related degree across the country and facilitate a sustained dialogue between these schools and the APHA-SA.” NJPHA is currently encouraging students at other colleges and universities in NJ with undergraduate public health majors to become NJPHA student chapters. Other chapters would also have a role on the executive board and become a APHA-SA – Campus Liaison Committee member.