Dear SPH,

It was the happiest of times and the most difficult of times at SPH this semester. There were the days that I enjoyed—Convocation and its hundreds of handshakes, the latest publication by one of our graduate students, feeling the energy of the admissions staff in New York City meeting prospective students—and the challenging days around funding uncertainties and navigating attacks against science. Yet we are proud that SPH remains a BU treasure: formidably creative, ambitiously successful, highly energetic, resolved to continue to generate knowledge and teach a new generation.

Despite the many changes in our world, our work has gone on. To remind us all of what it takes to make SPH run, here’s a list of what happened during this past semester alone.

  • 11,500+ Personal advising emails sent in response to student/grad/alum inquiries
  • 2300+ MPH applications reviewed
  • 84 SPH-Sponsored employer events for students
  • 150 Course bulletin changes
  • 197 research proposals
  • 650 student waitlist entries complete
  • 169 work order tickets created for:  façade inspections, burst chillers, strong odor complaints, leaky condensate tanks, broken radiators, brick walkway replacements, buckling ceiling tiles, bathroom emergencies, two mice spotted, ceiling lights replaced, doors not closing, lights buzzing or flickering, power off issues, toilet paper refills
  • Advised 300+practicum seekers
  • 149 teaching assistant (TA) requests filled
  • Reviewed 350+student resumes and cover letters
  • 21 student organizations sponsored
  • 750+ academic record changes
  • 1200+ Grad reviews done
  • 32 course and degree modifications reviewed by Education Committee
  • 726 hours of peer coaching and 887 hours of tutoring
  • 664 students attended career and practicum fairs
  • 462 Students graduated
  • 48,000+ SPH This Week email recipients
  • 3.5M+ social media video views

              All of this very practical, laborious, and varied work by our fantastic staff and faculty matters. These dozens of pieces of effort deserve to be celebrated. This work testifies to the value of details and the ethos of SPH. This is who we are. I thank you all.

              Summer is the time for a backward glance. Summer is also a palate-cleansing season—watermelon runs sweeter, pesto blends a brighter green, hamburgers taste charcoaled, seltzer has more bubbles. We free ourselves, not quite believing there will be another autumn coming. Summer is a time for imaginative play, and we count on summer days to be drifty, desultory. At times, too: overly-active, going non-stop. The goal is to be at peace, although perhaps not at rest.

              Please enjoy this summer, the long hours of light, the fizz of new music and books and ideas, the warming thought that this season will last. Summer always comes at a good time.

              Michael Stein
              Dean ad interim
              mdstein@bu.edu

               

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