alumni

A Letter to Our Graduates

In a note to the class of 2026, Dean Adnan Hyder celebrates new graduates’ accomplishments and encourages them to remember the core values of public health.

Dear graduates,

Congratulations! You mark a wonderful achievement with your graduation, and all of us at BUSPH are proud of you.

You are graduating at a consequential moment for public health. Some may ask why anyone would choose this field right now? The answer is simple: the need is greater than ever. The work ahead of you is urgent, necessary, and deeply human. Public health expertise matters, and the world needs people who are trained, committed, and ready to serve for the health of all.

It has been a privilege to have you as part of our BUSPH community over these past months. It has been a pleasure to share in this part of your life’s journey, and to help equip you with the knowledge, skills, and capacity to become strong public health leaders.

As you leave BUSPH, know that you remain part of this community forever. You are joining a network of more than 12,000 BUSPH alumni and more than 355,000 Boston University alumni around the world. Use that community. Stay connected to it. Draw on it as a source of support, opportunity, and purpose.

Each of you will define success in your own way. Some of you will change one life in a profound way, while others will change thousands. Some of you will teach, some will care for communities directly, some will lead organizations, and others will conduct research, write papers, shape policy, or speak in public forums. The methods will differ, but the purpose is shared: you will all change lives for the better, and that is success.

Finally, I hope you carry with you the values that brought so many of you to BUSPH: a commitment to social justice and equity. Wherever you go, and whatever part of public health you pursue, remember those from vulnerable populations and those who have less voice or no power—that is your calling.

Congratulations again. We are proud of you, and we look forward to seeing the impact you will make locally, nationally and globally!

Warmly,

Adnan Hyder, MD, MPH, PhD

Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor
Boston University School of Public Health