Local and regional health departments in New England were surveyed to: (1) establish a baseline of existing working relationships between them and nearby academic institutions; (2) examine the barriers that inhibit the development of collaborations with academic partners; (3) assess how they jointly promote public health workforce development; and (4) analyze which essential public health services their partnership addresses. Despite the lack of
financial resources often cited for the absence of academiclocal health department collaborations, some New England states reported that their academic institution and local
public health department partnerships were valued and productive. The authors discuss how effective academiccommunity collaborations have the potential to facilitate a broad-based appreciation of public health among students via a wide array of public health curricula and applied experiential learning opportunities in public health settings. The authors propose a model for how to combine basic public health lessons with practical experience and leadership
offered by local health departments, in order to foster a real understanding of public health, its importance, practice, and relevance in today’s society from a public health workforce perspective.