Dean Barry Bloom

Welcome to the 2005-06 academic year. As with every academic year, it is a new beginning, an occasion to meet students and faculty, to rethink and update the teaching we have done in the past, and to recreate a vision for public health and the Harvard School of Public Health. And hopefully the summer has given us all an opportunity for some relaxation and intellectual renewal so that we embark upon the year with great energy, great enthusiasm, and great expectations.

I am sure that you all have your list of priorities for this new year, and I hope that we in the administration can help you fulfill many of them.

My list for the year encompasses fundamental areas of the School's endeavors. Topping the list is ensuring a high-quality education, one of the pillars upon which our existence is based. While courses change each year, it has been some time since we looked comprehensively at our overall educational offerings. With the self-study for our formal Committee on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation a year away, Dean James Ware and I believe it is a critical time to turn our attention to new competencies for public health, invigorated teaching approaches, and a systematic review of our curriculum and degree programs.

A second priority for me is to respond to the request by the University Development Office for a first cut of a plan from HSPH by the end of this calendar year for our major initiatives for fundraising over the next five to 10 years. With our Office for Resource Development, I look forward to working with the faculty to provide a compelling set of fundraising targets that will advance our effectiveness in improving health globally. As always, scholarships and financial aid for training the next generation of leaders will be a key priority.

Over the past three years our faculty have developed initiatives in some critical areas-bioinformatics, disparities in health, and quantitative methods. During this year, I look forward to supporting and nurturing these while identifying a small number of other areas for broad interdepartmental and interfaculty collaboration, which can be advanced with Dean's initiative funds.

I look forward to hearing from you about your priorities for the School and about your personal goals.

My best wishes to everyone for a terrifically productive and rewarding academic year.

Yours sincerely,

Barry R. Bloom