Meeting Harvard Chan Friends Around the World
Dean Michelle A. Williams, ScD ’91, met with alumni at receptions in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore in March, and with alumni and friends in London in September.
While in Thailand, Dean Williams had an audience and dinner with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, whose grandfather, His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol Adulyadej, earned a public health certificate in 1921 from the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers (as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health was originally known).
In Hong Kong in April, Dean Williams met with representatives from the Lee Kum Kee family and representatives from the LKK Health Products Group, which is owned by the Lee Kum Kee family. The family made a gift to the School in 2016 to establish the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness.
1913 Society Annual Luncheon
More than 100 members and guests gathered May 22 at the Charles Hotel for the 1913 Society Luncheon, which recognizes individuals who have created a planned gift to the School. Barry R. Bloom, Distinguished Service Professor and Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, chairs the Society; Timothy Johnson, MPH ’76, is the co-chair.
Portrait of Former Acting Dean David Hunter Unveiled
The School’s community gathered on September 6 for the unveiling of a portrait of David Hunter, MPH ’85, SD ’88, Vincent L. Gregory Professor in Cancer Prevention, Emeritus and former Dean for Academic Affairs and Acting Dean. The event was held in the Kresge Building’s Rosenau Atrium, where portraits of the Harvard Chan School’s past deans are displayed.
Hunter was appointed Dean for Academic Affairs in 2009 and served as Acting Dean in academic year 2015–16. Since retiring from Harvard, Hunter has joined the faculty at Oxford University, where he has launched a collaboration between Oxford and the Harvard Chan School in epidemiology.
Alumni Weekend 2017
Harvard Chan School alumni and friends visited the campus on October 14, where they heard about public health perspectives on aging and longevity from a variety of experts and connected with former classmates. Four alumni gave brief TED-style talks called “TEAM” talks—Talks that Educate, Actualize, and Motivate—on topics ranging from how to improve seniors’ health outcomes to terrestrial applications of space medicine. See page 12 for this year’s alumni award recipients.
HUBweek Future Forum
On the evening of October 13, Harvard Chan School Professor Atul Gawande, MD ’94, MPH ’99, a surgeon and the executive director of Ariadne Labs, joined author Malcolm Gladwell at a HUBweek Future Forum.
The two engaged in a provocative discussion about the power of checklists, smartphone apps, and other health systems innovations to revolutionize care.
The Power of Public Health Education
Harvard Chan School faculty, students, alumni, and financial aid supporters attended a dinner and panel discussion exploring the power of public health education and the extraordinary impact of student financial aid, held in New York on November 2. Dean Michelle A. Williams, ScD ’91, offered welcoming remarks, and Karen Emmons, dean for academic affairs, moderated the panel.
A Plastic Ocean Film Screening and Discussion
The Office of the Dean and the Harvard Global Health Institute sponsored a film screening and panel discussion of the award-winning documentary A Plastic Ocean on November 13. Dean Michelle A. Williams, ScD ’91, offered welcoming remarks, and producer Adam Leipzig moderated the panel.
Conference in Memory of the 100th Birth Anniversary of Professor Kung-Pei Chen
On November 20, Dean Michelle A. Williams, ScD ’91, joined other experts for a panel discussion on population aging and global public health, held at National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health.
Nutrition Department Celebrates 75th Anniversary
The Nutrition Department celebrated its 75th anniversary with a symposium highlighting both past achievements and new research initiatives. The November 1 event was followed by the 13th annual Stare-Hegsted Lecture. Department Chair Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, noted the Department’s many landmark achievements, including evidence on the risk factors of chronic diseases generated by the long running Nurses’ Health Studies. An alumni panel featured Alice Lichtenstein, SM ’75, SD ’79; Margo Wootan, SD ’93; Karen Peterson, SD ’87; and Lawrence Kushi, SD ’83.
Using People Power to Promote Public Health
Marshall Ganz, senior lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, offered strategies for organizing for social change before a crowd of hundreds who gathered at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center Amphitheater on April 4. The event, “Organizing for Health: People, Power and Change,” was hosted by the deans of Harvard University’s three health schools—Michelle A. Williams of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, George Q. Daley of Harvard Medical School, and R. Bruce Donoff of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
