It is with mixed feelings that I am announcing that Professor Lisa Sullivan will step down as Associate Dean for Education at the end of the Spring 2026 semester. After serving in this role for 18 years, Lisa has decided to return to the faculty, work on her books, and continue her research and teaching. While I am sad to see such an experienced leader step down and will miss her wisdom, I also understand her goals and I am excited to see her plans for continued engagement at SPH. Lisa has also kindly agreed to work through our current CEPH accreditation, for which I am grateful.

Lisa’s tenure at the Dean’s office has been a story of success—during her time SPH redesigned its MPH program to include an integrated core curriculum, interdisciplinary specialization options and an integrative learning experience tailored to the needs of the workforce; developed new Master of Science programs; launched a new PhD program; and expanded the number of formal 4+1 and dual degree options. She also led the design and implementation of the Online MPH program. Lisa has represented our school well as a member of the MPH Expert Panel of the Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Framing the Future Effort in 2012, which meaningfully changed the structure of the MPH degree; and more recently chaired ASPPH’s Framing the Future 2030 initiative that charted a blueprint for public health education in 2030. Later this year, Lisa will join the Council on Education for Public Health Board of Directors. Lisa co-edited Teaching Public Health, which included a state-of-the-field collection of contributions from faculty experts in the field, and Volume 2 is due out in spring 2026. Lisa and her team, with MarCom, also just launched the new Teaching Public Health website which elevates excellence in teaching and showcases the work of our faculty and staff.

I want to thank Lisa for not only her service as our Associate Dean but also as a professor at this school for over 30 years! Teaching biostatistics, working on the Framingham Heart Study and writing textbooks for public health are just some of her stellar accomplishments. Her Essentials of Biostatistics in Public Health textbook, is one of the most widely used books in Jones and Bartlett’s series. She was the first SPH faculty member to receive the prestigious Boston University Metcalf Award, and the ASPPH/Pfizer Award for Excellence in Teaching. She also received the Massachusetts ACE National Network of Women Leaders Leadership Award, and the Mosteller Statistician of the Year Award from the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and is a fellow of the ASA. We are truly grateful for her service and look forward to many more years of valuable contribution to SPH and BU.

I will inform the community of next steps in due course—but for now please join me in thanking Lisa for her remarkable service to SPH—and I look forward to working with her till the end of the semester.

Sincerely,

AH

Adnan A. Hyder, MD MPH PhD
Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor
Boston University School of Public Health

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