HSPH Dean Barry Bloom (left) and Dean for Academic Affairs James Ware (right) delivered the third annual State of the School Address. Both donned Boston Red Sox hats in honor of the team’s pennant win the night before.

Dean Bloom was joined by Dean for Academic Affairs James Ware. Lending an air of festivity to the event, both wore Boston Red Sox hats in honor of the local team’s pennant victory over the New York Yankees the previous night. The Deans provided an overview of accomplishments at the School this past year, as well as future goals. The event, which was broadcast to Landmark Center, drew a standing-room-only crowd.

Allston Planning Process

Science and technology are anticipated to be a major focus for the Allston campus, although more specific plans are still being discussed. Parts of many faculties are expected to work there in configurations that will promote new synergies.

"The vision is to take on very big problems and do it in a multidisciplinary way, which has not been so easy with the [current] geographic dispersion and with the organizational structure of many of the faculties," said Dean Bloom.

He reviewed the general Allston planning process, which involves a master committee. Representing HSPH is Dyann Wirth, professor of infectious diseases in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and Kris Natarajan, a master’s student in the Department of Health Policy and Management. School members may learn more about the Allston plan through HPH NOW and mailed updates.

Under consideration by an Allston subcommittee on science and technology are 18 white papers–ranging from astronomy and evolutionary biology to population sciences–that will form a framework for the early building phases of the Allston campus. The fact that HSPH researchers are involved in half of these papers demonstrates that "we are already one of the most interconnected faculties at the University," said Dean Bloom.

Research Achievements

Dean Bloom reviewed a number of significant research achievements from the past year, noting that they were just a sampling:

Trish Lavoie of the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health

• An analysis using sophisticated methodology has confirmed the contribution of mammography to saving women’s lives.

• The Planet Health curriculum, which has been shown to reduce TV viewing and obesity in middle school girls, is now being offered to 100 middle schools in Massachusetts.

• The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project Monograph has given officials and researchers for the first time a systematic way to monitor health disparities across a wide range of outcomes using basic socioeconomic information.

• The widely used "Your Cancer Risk" index, a web-based tool for determining individual cancer risks and the steps to reduce them, has now been expanded to include diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke, and has been renamed "Your Disease Risk," http://www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu.

• The Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research will undertake one of the first in-depth studies of how exposure to heavy metals like lead and mercury at the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Oklahoma affects the health of children.

• A study to be published soon of the 1918 influenza epidemic will provide the first explanation of the dynamics of that epidemic and its impact.

Addressing School community members as a whole, Dean Bloom said their commitment to the mission of the School made HSPH, "the greatest place to work" he had ever experienced.

The Financial Picture

For the eighteenth consecutive year, HSPH has ended the fiscal year with a positive operating balance, said Dean Ware, who provided an overview of the School’s financial picture. The percentage of tuition covered by scholarships grew from 36 percent in fiscal year 2003 to 47 percent this year, a growth largely credited to time-limited funds made available by the University’s Office of the President. Dean Bloom noted that he is working toward further increasing scholarship funds for students. There was also a notable increase in new gifts and pledges.

Great Place to Work

Dean Ware unveiled a new web site for the Great Place to Work (GPTW) initiative, an effort begun to increase job satisfaction and to promote a healthy, supportive, and productive working environment. The pin-enabled site is available at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gptw/.

	Daniel Beaudoin of Operations asks a question.

Dean Ware noted that other GPTW efforts continue, including an ongoing lecture series. The next talk is "Should Alcohol be Part of a Healthy Lifestyle?" This talk will take place on Wednesday, November 17 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Kresge G-2. Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition, will be the speaker.

"We hope that you will be an active participant in the process of making the school a great place to work," concluded Dean Ware.

The Address was well-attended by a mix of faculty, staff, and students.