Metcalf Award
for Excellence in Teaching
Veronika J. Wirtz
School of Public Health
Veronika J. Wirtz is a professor at Boston University's School of Public Health. Through teaching and committed mentorship, she brings the world to her classroom, highlighting the importance of global health policy, health systems, and equitable access to medicine, including supply chain management.
For over a decade, Professor Wirtz has engaged students via lively class discussions, practice-based teaching, and her own vast expertise, exposing them to the complexity of global health policymaking and teaching them to think critically and creatively. She often invites leading experts into the classroom so that students gain knowledge about the realities of global public health work. One classroom observer noted, “I felt that people were there to figure out how to change the world.”
As a mentor and advisor, Professor Wirtz is renowned for her “outstanding ability to individually connect,” treating students as colleagues “with great respect for their abilities and experience.” She cofounded Emerging Women Leaders, a careermentoring program that connects doctoral students with senior public health leaders. She launched a peer-to-peer research lab where students meet to discuss successes and challenges of current projects and share professional advice. She has helped dozens of students publish in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to her teaching and mentoring, she is an internationally recognized expert on medicine access and health systems and is regularly called on to consult with the World Health Organization. In the words of a colleague, “She is a rare faculty member who seems to do it all, and to the very highest standards.”
Professor Wirtz earned her BPharm from the University of Freiburg and her MSc and PhD from the University of London. A licensed pharmacist, published researcher, and world-renowned expert, she was the recipient of the 2023 Excellence in Research Mentoring Award and the 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award for Dedication to Student Learning from the School of Public Health.