“Students are the treasure of the Harvard Chan School. Professional education gives students the tools for a lifetime of service. No one elects the field of public health to make the most money they can nor because anyone else has forced them to do it. Everyone who studies public health is genuinely motivated to understand the scientific basis of health and the nature of threats to health; as health professionals, they want to make real change for the better in people’s lives.
“We support student travel fellowships because there are some kinds of learning that cannot occur in the classroom. The opportunity to live and work with local communities provides a hands-on experience that you just cannot duplicate elsewhere. We love the idea of enabling people to gain experience and learning at critical times in their lives—experiences that can sometimes shape an entire career. Providing support to the remarkable and highly motivated students who find their way to the Harvard Chan School is very rewarding. It makes you feel very good about the future and the potential for good embodied in our students.”
—Harvey Fineberg and Mary Wilson helped created the Albina Fund for Student Travel Fellowships, which provides students from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights with hands-on learning experiences focused on international assistance and global health and development. Mary serves as an adjunct professor in Global Health and Population at the Harvard Chan School, and Harvey was previously dean of the School.
“I attended the Harvard Chan School as a scholarship recipient. At the time, my career had just begun. But I had to put it on hold to pursue my degree; I showed up in Boston with some money in the bank, an old truck, my clothes, and the hope that I had made the right decision. If it wasn’t for that scholarship, I’m not sure I would have had the guts to do it. But I knew that my experience at Harvard Chan would ultimately improve my ability to make an impact in health care.
“Financial aid is a powerful recruiting tool that helps the Harvard Chan School attract the most talented students—with the greatest potential to improve public health. When I gave my first $1,000 gift to the School, I initially wondered if it would make a difference. It did. The way this School is financed is changing—and it’s going to rely more on donors like me, because federal sponsored research will not be a reliable funding source. I support this School’s work because health is one of the few things that unifies all of us. And Harvard Chan is uniquely suited to make an impact because our students represent such a diverse mix of experiences and skills—all tied together by their passion to improve health.”
—Richard Topping is CEO of Cardinal Innovations Healthcare and an annual contributor to the Harvard Chan School’s Scholarship Fund, and is pictured here with his wife, Rory Topping.
“The fact that the air outside is becoming more and more polluted is no secret. But what’s concerning is that indoor air can be up to five times worse—and few people are aware. At Dyson, we are about solving problems, and this is a massive one. Indoors, we can be breathing in anything from paint fumes to pollen to pet dander to chemicals emitted from cleaning supplies and even sofas. And we spend 90 percent of our time there. We need more attention on this issue.
“We chose to support Joseph Allen and his team at the Harvard Chan School because they’re leaders in this field—and their work has the ability to spark global conversation about indoor environments. I hope the team can help us—and the public—understand and communicate the dangers of indoor air pollution, while detailing changes people can make to lead healthier lives. It’s an added bonus that our contribution helps support more women in STEM fields. Erika Eitland, SD ’20—one of the students supported by our gift—is a talented young scientist whose work will be invaluable to us in translating public health science to consumers; I very much look forward to her changing the world in the future.”
—Paul Dawson is the Global Category Director for Environmental Control at Dyson. A gift from Dyson helps support the work of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment.
“Ron was able to attend the Harvard Chan School through a scholarship, so we’ve always felt a certain amount of gratitude to the School. Making a planned gift was an attractive option because it allowed us to make a significant contribution while receiving earnings as the fund grows. It’s nice to think that our gift will be making a difference well into the future. There are a lot of organizations that do good, but very few that actually save lives, and that’s one of the main reasons why we believe it’s important to support the School.
“What we’re hoping is that our gift can free students up to make choices that will reflect what they really want to do—to do good—and so they will not feel that because they have an enormous amount of student debt, they have to take a job solely for financial reasons. Once in a meeting at the School, we were introduced to a young woman who went to both the Medical School and the Harvard Chan School and wound up with an enormous amount of debt. It was appalling that people who are building a career—basically a service career in public health—should have to have the burden of repaying an enormous debt for their education.”
—A gift from Marilyn and Ron Walter, SM ’72, established the Ronald A. and Marilyn R. Walter Fellowship Fund, which is funded by the Ronald A. and Marilyn R. Walter 2006 Charitable Remainder Unitrust.
“Life is short. If we believe in something and we have the ability to do it now, it is best to do it promptly. Given the extremity of public health challenges we now face—from climate change to epidemics to aging societies—this is an important time to support public health and the Harvard Chan School. These issues are particularly urgent in China—the world’s most populous country.
“We hope our gift will accomplish two goals. We want to increase global awareness of the importance of public health. We also want to support the students who will one day implement simple, cost-effective ways to improve health in China and around the world. We believe there are many students who want to study public health but simply cannot afford to. With our support, we hope to help students pursue work that makes the world a better place to live.”
—A gift from Queenie and Gilbert Wong established the Queenie C.K. Wong Fellowship Fund, which provides financial aid to students from China and elsewhere. Queenie Wong is pictured with her daughter, Tiffany.
“Making money isn’t on the top of the list for Harvard Chan students. Making a difference is. For many students, that commitment necessitates taking on a substantial financial debt. As a longtime faculty member and entrepreneur and as a former small-business banker, we can appreciate the continuing financial challenges that entails. We are especially concerned that debt affects some students’ choices after graduation. What really gets discouraging is when I hear somebody say, ‘This is the position I’m really passionate about, but I’m just not going to be able to make it work, so I’m going to have to take the safer position that pays more money, that’s more stable, that’s more traditional.’
“There is no better time than now to invest in our students. We need people at the table who understand the importance of affordable health care or the threats posed by climate change. Chris and I are heartened and humbled by the commitment Harvard Chan students make to public health. We have decided to lessen that burden in a small way by supporting financial aid to Health Policy and Management and DrPH students.”
—A gift from Rick and Chris Siegrist created the Siegrist Family Scholarship Fund, which will provide financial support to students studying management and/or health policy in the Master of Public Health program and to students in the Doctor of Public Health program.
