Dean’s Message – September 2024
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On September 10th we had the pleasure of hosting our new building construction celebration. This event was well attended by members of UMass leadership, our faculty, staff and donors. This is a landmark moment, as it marked the start of construction on the first-ever structure on campus designed solely for our school. The excitement of the crowd was palpable and the messages from each speaker demonstrated the importance of this project for our school, UMass, and the Commonwealth. As we watch over the course of the next year the construction of the new SPHHS Hub, we will be hosting events to document this milestone. For example, the first week in December we will host a beam signing party and during our annual BBQ next spring we will collect items for a time capsule to be buried in the patio between the Hub and Totman. Please plan on participating in these events.
Homecoming at UMass was held the weekend of September 20-21 with numerous events across campus including a win for our football team! This was quickly followed by the launch of Accelerate, an ambitious UMass fundraising campaign. The University’s $600 million-dollar goal is well-targeted to help us deliver the highest quality education to our students and conduct excellent and innovative research that will change how we live, work and play on this planet. Our school’s fundraising focus centers on four priorities: supporting the education and training of the future public health and health science workforce through general education scholarships and funds to allow our students to participate in high-impact practices; retaining and promoting research excellence of the faculty by gifting for fixed-term and endowed professorships; interdisciplinary initiatives and partnerships that cut across campus and with industry and communities that provide economic and social benefits to the commonwealth; and our new building to ensure that it is equipped with state of the art technology. Funding from our donors will help us Accelerate the preparation of our future leaders in healthcare and public health such that these individuals are culturally competent and reflective of the populations they serve. I hope you will consider being a part of this campaign.
Congratulations to the Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network on its 10th anniversary. The network celebrated the occasion during the health equity advocacy and policy showcase held on September 26th. The event drew over 300 health advocates from across western MA with the purpose of advancing public health and health equity. This was done through sharing resources from various advocacy organizations and speeches from Senator Jo Comerford and Representative Mindy Domb. Kudos to Risa Silverman, our Director of Public Health Practice and Outreach, and Brenda Evans, our school’s Community Research Liaison, for organizing and implementing such a significant event.
This month also marked the completion of my six-year terms on two prestigious national committees: the NIH Council of Councils and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Health and Medicine Division advisory committee. Serving on these committees has been a profound opportunity to contribute to the broader health community at a national level. It has exposed me to a wide array of innovative and critical public health and medical issues, provided insight into funding priorities, and allowed me to offer perspectives as a nutritional epidemiologist and advocate for public health and higher education. Interacting with esteemed professionals in these fields has been both intellectually stimulating and inspiring. Looking back on my career, I firmly believe that such service is indispensable for academics, enabling us to give back to our communities and nurture future leaders in our respective fields.