Sarah E. Cprek, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy and the Acting Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health. Since 2015, Dr. Cprek has taught over 4,600 undergraduate students and has led the development and continuous refinement of the Bachelor of Public Health program, including curriculum redesign, accreditation alignment, and scaffolded learning approaches that support student progression. She has also led the creation and expansion of programmatic initiatives such as the Rural Public Health Scholars and Public Health Nursing Scholars programs, which provide structured, experiential pathways preparing students for both public health practice and continued education in health-related professional programs.
Dr. Cprek is a nationally recognized educator, earning multiple teaching honors, including the 2025 ASPPH Early Career Teaching Excellence Award. She is also the recipient of the University of Kentucky Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, one of the university’s highest honors for teaching excellence. Additional recognitions include the College of Public Health Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Award and the Dean’s Innovation in Teaching Award.
Her scholarship focuses on the science of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on program-level curriculum design, writing across the curriculum, and experiential learning to support student engagement, retention, and applied skill development in undergraduate public health education. Earlier in her career, her research included work in maternal and child health and adverse childhood experiences.
Dr. Cprek provides leadership at both the college and national level, with a focus on strengthening undergraduate education as a coordinated system that supports student success and clear pathways to workforce entry and graduate education. She serves on the University of Kentucky’s Undergraduate Council and the Faculty Advisory Council for Experiential Education and is a member of the ASPPH Education Advisory Committee and Undergraduate Leadership Group, contributing to national discussions shaping public health education across degree levels. Through her leadership, she is committed to advancing undergraduate public health education as both a workforce-ready and pre-professional pathway.
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