— Biography from the 2021 Fall Commencement program —

Dr. Plaspohl received her AS in Dental Hygiene (1978) and BS in Dental Hygiene Education (1989) from Armstrong State College, and her Master of Health Sciences (1992) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) with a concentration in Community Health Behavior and Education (2010) from Georgia Southern University. She earned distinction as the first DrPH graduate of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern, supporting qualification requirements for the new college to earn CEPH accreditation. She achieved certification in 2012 as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Dr. Plaspohl worked for 43 years in the local Savannah community, providing a variety of professional services during that time. She began her career as a registered dental hygienist in 1978, delivering primary oral hygiene care in private dental practices. She then transitioned to a new career at Memorial Health University Medical Center (MHUMC) in 1994, beginning as a Market Research Analyst within Research and Business Development, advancing to serve as Senior Market Research Analyst. In 1999, she joined Memorial’s Ethics and Compliance Division, serving first as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Administrator, followed by promotion to Research Ethics Officer for the 530-licensed bed tertiary care facility where she provided leadership and regulatory oversight for the protection of human subjects in more than 350 clinical trials. She achieved certification as a Certified IRB Manager (CIM) and Certified IRB Professional (CIP), enabling her to speak as a subject matter expert at national conferences and served as an external consultant for human subject protections programs within the US. Shortly after beginning her work at MHUMC, Dr. Plaspohl also began teaching part-time for the Department of Health Sciences at Armstrong State College, teaching courses in epidemiology and biostatistics, permanently joining the department of Health Sciences as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Health Sciences in 2011. She became MPH Program Coordinator in 2013, assuming administrative responsibilities for MPH admissions, advising, course scheduling and accreditation compliance. Dr. Plaspohl also served on numerous university, college, and departmental service committees. In 2012, she chaired Armstrong’s initiative to become one of the first tobacco-free universities within the state of Georgia, based upon her dissertation research experience pertaining to an assessment of tobacco-free polices at US universities. Her public health research agenda included efficacy of school-located influenza vaccine programs and the historical impact of Spanish Influenza on the Savannah community in 1918. She presented numerous oral and poster presentations at national, state, and local academic venues on these research topics. She completed a Governor’s Teaching Fellowship in 2016 and earned tenure and promotion in 2017. She served as interim Department Chair for Health Sciences and Kinesiology from 2018-2019, then advanced to serve as Associate Dean for the Waters College of Health Professions from 2019 until retirement. Dr. Plaspohl served as a board member for the Chatham County Board of Health (2016-2020), Georgia Southern University Alumni Association (2018-2021), and Hospice Savannah (2020-present). Notable awards and recognition include the Georgia Public Health Association Barfield Award (2013), Armstrong Atlantic State Notable Alumni Award (2013), the Women’s Empowerment Award for Outstanding Armstrong State University Faculty (2016), and the Armstrong Student Government Association Hero Award (2017). Throughout her academic career, Dr. Plaspohl’s passion focused on promotion of public health and mentoring students for success. For these many contributions in the field of public health, health sciences, and health professions, Dr. Plaspohl is deserving of the title Associate Dean and Associate Professor Emerita of Health Professions.*