2017 Metcalf Award Recipient: Sophie Godley

Sophie Godley has been teaching students at Boston University since 2003. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Public Health and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the School of Public Health (SPH), with a special focus on teen pregnancy and maternal and child health. In addition, she teaches a seminar, Seeing Poverty, at Kilachand Honors College. Prior to her appointment to the SPH faculty in 2011, she was an instructor at SPH while she was a senior leader at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. Her areas of expertise include implementing science­based prevention programs and incorporating popular media into public health education.

Professor Godley considers it her life’s work to “inspire students to care deeply about those less fortunate, to conceive and execute relevant, practical research, and ultimately to create positive change in their communities.” She is a generous mentor who makes herself readily available to students and considers carefully the learning processes of students. Her innovative classroom methods include in-class group learning, dyadic discussion, and multimedia presentations ranging from videos to social media.

Student evaluations reveal a profound respect for Professor Godley as an educator, a motivator, and a human being. They portray an “open,” honest,” “thoughtful,” “passionate ” professor who creates an “amazing learning environment ” that is “a safe haven for discussing difficult topics.” One student says, “She helped prepare and empower me to go into the world and be an effective catalyst for change.” Says another, “She is the epitome of everything I want to be in life.”

Professor Godley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies from Smith College, a Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Science from the University of Washington, and she expects to receive a Doctor of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from Boston University later this year. In 2014, she received the School of Public Health’s Norman A. Scotch Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her current work in the community focuses on supporting healthy sexuality in communities and schools, and supporting families and parents of adolescents. Her research focuses on the intersection of poverty and adolescent sexual health. She also has worked with Roca, Inc., a performance- driven antipoverty and antiviolence agency.