Dean’s Message – August 2025
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Welcome back to the start of a new academic year!
We are thrilled to welcome our returning students and warmly introduce our first-year students to their new home at SPHHS. This year offers countless opportunities to deepen your knowledge, explore your sense of purpose, and grow into compassionate, innovative, and well-rounded global citizens. Just see the list of activities for September below!
I encourage you to engage actively with your classmates, professors, UMass staff, and members of our local community. Take full advantage of the variety of workshops, seminars, and the open spaces for exercise and meditation that both SPHHS and UMass provide. Our campus is truly beautiful; its exploration will provide you with the tranquility and mindfulness needed to flourish and enhance your sense of well-being.
Our dedicated faculty are eager to engage in meaningful discussions, support your learning in public health and health sciences, and collaborate with you in their labs and community-based research and service projects. They continue to be successful in obtaining grants during this uncertain funding climate, demonstrating their resilience and commitment in supporting the scientific process of creating evidence-based interventions, technologies, and policy that will improve the health of all.
Our academic and career advisors are here to help you navigate your academic journey successfully—please reach out often, not just when challenges arise. Make sure you check out their webpages for the many resources they have to offer you.
At SPHHS, we believe in the power of teamwork and collaboration. Together, we can simplify the difficult moments and celebrate our successes, keeping our momentum strong throughout the year. An example of this was the “Careers in Biotech” event we held on August 21st on the Mt. Ida campus, which was designed to help current master’s and doctoral students and recent graduates explore the job opportunities in the biotechnology field. One of our alumni, Imran Narsrullah ’87, invited four of his colleagues to speak about their careers and how they are looking for young talent in the health sciences field. See the article in this month’s newsletter for more details on this successful event.
Another event, scheduled for October 3rd, (12-1pm, IALS Conference Center) is a three-college dean’s seminar (Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, & SPHHS) that will bring healthcare experts together to discuss their experiences in health policy advocacy and guide our faculty and students in understanding how they can actively seek support at the state and national level for their research and public health initiatives, especially given the climate we find ourselves in. These are just two examples of many, of how we are consistently updating our programs and curriculum to produce the most talented and well-trained workforce for the future.
I want to take a moment to publicly congratulate all the faculty who have been promoted in the last year. These include:
- Alexander "Sasha" Suvorov, Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
- Raphael Arku, Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
- Wouter Hoogkamer, Assoicate Professor, Kinesiology
- Amanda Paluch, Associate Professor, Kinesiology
- Megan Gross, Associate Professor, Speech Language & Hearing Sciences
- Gwyneth Rost, Senior Lecturer II, Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
- Greg Grinnell, Senior Lecturer, Kinesiology
- Sofija Zagarins, Senior Lecturer, Biostatistics & Epidemiology
- Megan Patton-Lopez, Senior Lecturer, Public Health Sciences
- Emily Bambacus, Audiology Clinic Educator and Lecturer, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- Thomas Mackie, Professor, Tenure in Health Promotion and Policy
And to welcome our new staff members in the school:
- Alma Bartnik, Office Manager, Health Promotion & Policy
- Monica Roche, Academic Advisor, Public Health Sciences
- Megan Sokolowski, Administrative Assistant & Registrar, Public Health Sciences
- Jessica Kazmier, Departmental Admin, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- Connor Luce, Academic Success Advisor, SPHHS
- Catie Sirois, Academic Success Advisor, SPHHS
- Keir Chapman, Assistant Director of Communications, SPHHS
Finally, as I mentioned above, here are a sample of upcoming events aimed at building community among our students, faculty and staff:
- September 15: SPHHS Pops and Hops
Student welcome events:
- Sept. 3: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences welcome event
- Sept. 3: Kinesiology graduate student welcome back
- Sept. 4: Crafternoon, from 1-4pm in the Arnold House lobby (hosted by the Office of Academic Success and Career Planning)
- Sept. 5: Health Promotion and Policy graduate student orientation
- Sept. 11: Biostatistics & Epidemiology Fall gathering & student orientation
- Sept. 16: National Voter Registration Day, table in Arnold House lobby (hosted by the Office of Academic Success and Career Planning)
- Sept. 22: First Day of Fall Event, Arnold House lobby (hosted by the Office of Academic Success and Career Planning)
We hope to see you there, and at future events we'll be hosting throughout the academic year!