Date May 27, 2025
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Celebrating our public health graduates

Explore highlights from this year’s Commencement & Reunion Weekend at Brown University.

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Graduates were all smiles at Sunday's School of Public Health Commencement Ceremony.

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Grads processed down College Street on Sunday morning to kick off a day of celebration.

four graduates posing for a photo
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Online MPH graduates posed for a photo at Sunday's reception.

Graduate posing with a professor
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Public health professors joined in the fun on Simmons Quad on Sunday, honoring this year's degree recipients.

Over the weekend, the Brown University School of Public health honored the accomplishments of 270 graduates during its 2025 Commencement Ceremony. The graduating class included 81 undergraduates, 175 master’s students, and 14 doctoral candidates.

Friday Community Celebration

Commencement weekend kicked off with the school’s annual Community Celebration on Friday, during which the 2025 Alumni Impact Award was presented to Larry Warner ’97, MPH’13, DrPH, a health equity advocate and mentor honored for his service to Brown students and Rhode Island communities. Khushi Patel '25; Vivian Uzoechi, MPH'25; and Bill Nardi, Ph.D.'25—three student speakers who were nominated by their peers—addressed their classmates at this festive event.

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2025 Alumni Impact Award recipient Larry Warner ’97, MPH’13, DrPH posed with Dean Ashish K. Jha at Friday's Celebration.

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Khushi Patel '25 shared her unique path to public health during her Celebration address.

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Student speaker Vivian Uzoechi, MPH'25 praised her peers' accomplishments and shared that she is headed to medical school in the fall.

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Bill Nardi, Ph.D.'25 began from humble beginnings, working in the food service business before embarking upon the path that has led him to a terminal degree in public health.

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Students smiled, toasted one another and posed for photos at Friday evening's festive event.

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Senior Associate Dean of Education Ron Aubert was honored with a special award to commemorate his dedication to the school's students.

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Three students posed with special School of Public Health swag.

Saturday Commencement Forum

On Saturday, as part of the University’s lineup of Commencement Forums, the school co-hosted a live recording of the Humans in Public Health podcast. The forum, a collaboration with Brown's Urban Studies program, focused on how cities—with their air pollution, noise, inequality and limited green space, along with their diversity, infrastructure and resources—impact human health.

Speakers included epidemiology faculty members Joseph Braun, director of SPH's Center for Climate, Environment & Health, and Erica Walker, director of Brown’s Community Noise Lab, in conversation with Professor Sandy Zipp, the director of Brown's Urban Studies Program. Stay tuned for the episode drop on June 3!

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Humans in Public Health host and Brown alumna Megan Hall ’04.5, MPH ’15 kicked off the event, welcoming the crowd to the live episode taping.

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Professor Joe Braun shared sobering data about the dangers of lead exposure for children, noting that many urban buildings still have a dangerous amount of lead paint that impact health across generations.

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Professor Erica Walker discussed her community-engaged projects in Jackson, MS, and Providence, RI, noting that it is important to listen to members of the community to discern their public health needs.

Biostatistics Reception

Faculty and staff from the Department of Biostatistics welcomed graduates, their families and friends to a special year-end celebration.

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Diahmin Hawkins Sc.M.'25 poses with loved ones.

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Biostatistics program leadership honored graduates at this special event.

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Neil Mehta '25 spoke with friends at the Saturday reception.

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Biostatistics staff and faculty were delighted to partake in the celebration.

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Stavroula Chrysanthopoulou (center) honored biostatistics graduates at the Saturday event.

Health Equity Scholars Reception

This year's graduating cohort of Health Equity Scholars were honored as family, friends, alumni and mentors celebrated their achievements at a special lunchtime reception on Saturday.

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Graduating Health Equity Scholars were honored at a special event on Saturday.

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Laini Tuboku-Metzger MPH'25

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Petranea Smith MPH'25 hugs a peer at the podium.

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Jacqueline Partida MPH'25

Sunday Ceremonies

At the Ceremony on the Main Green, public health concentrator Aliza Kopans addressed the crowd and Terrie "Fox" Wetle, professor emerita of health services, policy and practice and the founding dean of the School of Public Health, was honored with the highest award the Brown University faculty bestow, the Rosenberger Medal of Honor.

At Sunday's School of Public Health Commencement Ceremony keynote speaker Piyush Tewari, the founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation who has dedicated his career to making roads safer in India and across the world, was awarded the school's 2025 Public Health Champion Award by Dean Ashish K. Jha.

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Dean Ashish K. Jha (left) presented Piyush Tewari with the Public Health Champion Award.

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Graduates were abuzz as the Commencement Ceremony was about to begin.

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Dean Jha shook hands with graduates as they passed across the commencement stage.

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Graduates shared hugs and encouraging words with loved ones at the reception after Sunday's ceremony.

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There were smiles in crowd as friends and family celebrated the graduates' new status as bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree recipients.

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Friends and family honored graduates of the School of Public Health on Sunday.

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Student News Event News Awards Commencement

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