Dear Members of the Harvard Chan School Community,
I am pleased to welcome you to the 2016-2017 academic year at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Our community is driven by a sense of shared mission to both pursue knowledge and translate it into meaningful solutions that improve the lives of people around the world.
What Are Your Ideas?
It is my privilege to serve as Dean of this great institution at a crucial moment for global public health. I began my tenure a mere two months ago. Yet increasingly people are asking me: “What are you going to do as Dean? What are your goals?” I have some thoughts and plans, but more importantly, I want to hear your ideas. What can we do – together – in the next year and beyond to develop powerful ideas and translate them into policies for a healthier world?
Listening Tour: An Update
Shortly after it was announced that I would become Dean, I began a listening tour to meet with faculty and academic appointees, staff, students, alumni and friends of the School to learn from your perspectives what is working well here and what could be improved. What are the greatest opportunities in the classroom and in the laboratory sciences, the population sciences and the social sciences that we need to pursue to improve the public’s health in the U.S. and globally? I met with postdocs and graduating students in May. I have also met with department chairs, a small number of administrative managers and leaders, as well as with some donors and alumni.
Now that the fall semester has started, I will be meeting separately with groups of junior faculty, academic appointees, senior faculty, and administrative staff at all levels. I will also meet with current students, with a particular focus on incoming students to hear their opinions on the admissions process and orientation. My conversations with alumni and friends of the School will continue in order to gain their unique perspectives. The goal is to complete my listening tour by the end of this semester, consider my findings, and report to the community in early 2017.
“Ask Me, Tell Me Anything”
As part of my ongoing commitment to hearing from the community, once a month I am going to hold a roundtable for 10 students at a time. Called “Ask Me, Tell Me Anything”, this will be an opportunity for students to spend an hour learning about my role as Dean. (I know that I had only a vague idea about what a Dean did when I was a student here 30 years ago). This will also be a chance for students to tell me what is on their minds, what projects they are working on, and really to discuss anything. Students may stop by the Office of Student Services for more information on how to sign up for these sessions. Details on this will also be included in the upcoming editions of Student News.
Electronic Suggestion Box
Finally, we are initiating a Harvard Chan electronic suggestion box where you can submit ideas or concerns to the Dean’s Office online – either with your name or anonymously. I realize that sometimes it is easier to be candid if one can do so confidentially. The electronic suggestion box can be accessed by any member of the Harvard Chan community by clicking here. I would like to assure you that I will read each submission carefully.
An Exciting Academic Year
The Harvard Chan School is renowned for its education, research, programmatic work, and advocacy around the world. As we embark together on this exciting academic year, I very much look forward to working with all members of our remarkable community to capitalize on our collective strength and advance the School’s mission. I am grateful to have this opportunity to collaborate with, and learn from, all of you.
With my best wishes,
Michelle A. Williams, ScD
Dean of the Faculty
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
photo: Kent Dayton