The Brown University School of Public Health was once again teeming with graduate students from across the United States and the world as the new academic year officially began with Orientation on August 28. The new cohort of students—232 in all—were welcomed to 121 South Main Street by Dean Ashish K. Jha, Associate Dean for Education Scott Rivkees and Academic Dean Francesca Beaudoin.
Opening the event, Dr. Rivkees reminded all gathered that Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans twenty years ago this month, taking the lives of over one thousand people. More recently, a pandemic claimed roughly 1.1 million lives in this country alone. In its aftermath, we are seeing major changes at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), including the expulsion of senior leadership. “When I think about public health, I see it less as a job and more as a calling,” Dr. Rivkees said. “The challenges we face today make it clear that we need people who are ready to answer that call and lead us into the future.”
Dean Jha echoed these sentiments, empathizing with students who may be wondering if this is a good time to enter the field. But he stressed that public health has never been defined by institutions. Rather, it is about identifying problems that hold people back from living healthy lives and then solving those problems by pursuing solutions relentlessly.
