Message from the Dean: I am pleased to announce that Deb Bowen will assume the position of Assistant Dean for Research at BUSPH effective July 1st.

Deb and I are enthusiastic about this new role as it will play directly to her interests in research and to her strengths in mentoring research faculty and developing research initiatives.

Deb will continue to serve as Director of the School’s highly regarded Prevention Research Center, a CDC-funded partnership among BUSPH, the Boston Housing Authority, the Boston Public Health Commission and a community committee. The PRC focuses on implementing health-improvement programs for residents of public housing developments in Boston.

In order to best accommodate her dual responsibilities as assistant dean and center director, Deb will step down from her role as Chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences. During her five plus years in that role Deb has overseen a tripling of the department’s research budget and has successfully mentored a number of young faculty.

As Assistant Dean, Deb will work closely with and report to Associate Dean Bobbie White. She will focus particularly on research mentoring for junior faculty across the school.

I am very pleased that Mary Jane England has agreed to serve as CHS Chair ad interim while the search is underway. Dr. England, who has been a Visiting Professor at BUSPH this past year, will become a Clinical Professor at the school on July 1st. She is a very experienced and effective leader and manager, having served over the course of her distinguished career as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Family Services, as associate dean at the Harvard Kennedy School, as CEO of the Washington Business Group on Health and most recently as President of Regis College from 2001 to 2011.

I have consulted with the faculty of the Department of Community Health Sciences regarding the process for identifying a new permanent chair, and we quickly came to the conclusion that a national search should be started promptly. I will continue to consult with the CH faculty as I endeavor to construct a committee and name a search committee chair.

Please join me in thanking Deb Bowen for her service as chair and in wishing both her and Mary Jane England great success in their new roles.

Bob Meenan

 

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