School of Public Health
UofM SPH Celebrated National Public Health Week 2026
Saturday, 11 April 2026
NPHW 2026 Celebration
Day 1: UofM Bridge Walk + PH on Wheels
The School of Public Health kicked off NPHW celebrations with the annual SPH Bridge walk at the Hunter Harrison Memorial Pedestrian Cable Bridge on the University of Memphis campus, followed by a Public Health on Wheels fieldtrip to The Works, Inc - a nonprofit community development corporation dedicated to renewing Memphis neighborhoods through innovation, advocacy and collaboration. Students learned about the programs The Works offers, including initiatives dedicated to affordable housing, nutrition, locally grown food and physical activity.
Photo: School of Public Health Bridge Walk
Read moreDay 2: SPH Cookoff
The School of Public Health hosted its inaugural SPH Cookoff at the UofM Tiger Food Lab, where SPH faculty, staff and students competed to create simple, nutritional recipes that anyone can make at home. The event was a great way to promote healthy eating and teamwork while learning about good nutrition and nourishing, approachable recipes.
Photo: SPH Cook Off winning team: (R-L) Dr. Cameron Bigler, Omolola Oladeji, Xianqiang Fu, Diyala Abdlrasul
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Day 2: PHSA x SCHD
After the cook off, the Public Health Student Association (PHSA) hosted a tabling event in collaboration with the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) at the Student Activity Plaza. SCHD representatives spoke about the Memphis aquifer and the importance of the aquifer in providing clean water for residents of the City of Memphis, the State of Tennessee and beyond. They also overall community health in the Memphis Shelby County area.
Photo: (L-R) Antonia White, Bailey Bynum, Sydney Ward, Delaurio Suttle
Day 3: Plant and Picnic + Research Workshop
The SPH hosted its annual Plant and Picnic event to help beautify the SPH and learn about the latest climate health challenges and solutions from the community garden coordinator, Art Johnson and faculty expert, Dr. Naser Titu.
Photo: (Center) Art Johnson, TIGUrS Urban Garden Coordinator
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Day 4: SPH Meet-and-Greet + Yoga
SPH organized its first Campus Meet-and-Greet where SPH students, faculty and staff spoke to UofM students about SPH programs and the school's many offerings. The event featured lawn games, watercolor painting, yoga and music.
The event followed with the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Environmental Health (EBE) Colloquium where SPH students learned about AI applications for early detection and adjuvant treatment selection in lung cancer.
Photo: SPH Yoga on the Lawn
Day 5: Friendship Friday Walk
SPH hosted its monthly Friendship Friday Walk where students, faculty and staff de-stressed from the week and strolled around the Memorial Field track on campus.
Photo: SPH Friendship Walk
Day 6: SPH Family Potluck Picnic
On the last day of the week SPH hosted its Annual SPH Family Potluck Picnic, inviting SPH students, faculty, staff, alums and their families to a fun-filled picnic potluck.
Photo: Annual SPH Family Potluck Picnic
Thank you
The School of Public Health would like to thank everyone who participated in making this NPHW a huge success. We would especially like to thank The Works team, which includes Karen Bernard, Mary Schmidt, and Jari Head, for leading a neighborhood tour and offering valuable historical context about their growing community impact.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to our Cook Off judges, Melissa Peterson - Assistant Director, Nutrition Programming & Operations, at the Campus Recreation Center and the Tiger Food Lab, and Eric Etter, Chef Instructor at UofM.
Thank you, Shelby County Government Health Department for partnering with the University of Memphis School of Public Health PHSA at their campus tabling event. A special thank you to Antonia White, MPH and Tyara Moore, MPH for spending time tabling with our students.
Thank you to Art Johnson, the UofM Community Garden Coordinator, who generously provided our school with new plant beds, which are now located in front of McCord Hall.
More glimpses from NPHW 2026
The Office of Communications at The University of Memphis School of Public Health