{"id":257768,"date":"2025-09-18T18:20:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=257768"},"modified":"2025-09-19T10:29:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T14:29:04","slug":"gregory-wellenius-receives-beverly-a-brown-professorship","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/gregory-wellenius-receives-beverly-a-brown-professorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Gregory Wellenius Receives Beverly A. Brown Professorship"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default-alt has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Environmental Health<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGregory Wellenius Receives Beverly A. Brown Professorship\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Following the retirement of Patrick Kinney, Gregory Wellenius has been named the second Beverly A. Brown Professor for the Improvement of Urban Health.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">September 18, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/megan-jones\/\">Megan Jones<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of Greg Wellenius\" class=\"wp-image-257805\" width=\"338\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-424x636.jpg 424w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-755x1133.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-1920x2880.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Wellenius-headshot-2022-1200x1800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><figcaption>Greg Wellenius<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/gregory-wellenius\/\">Gregory Wellenius<\/a> has been named the Beverly A. Brown Professor for the Improvement of Urban Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/articles\/2013\/trustee-richard-shipleys-gift-creates-beverly-brown-professorship\/\" target=\"_blank\">Endowed<\/a> in 2012 through a $4 million donation from Boston University trustee emeritus Richard Shipley (SMG\u201968, GSM\u201972), the professorship honors and supports the work of a highly distinguished professor whose research, teaching, and service advance the condition of the more than half the world&#8217;s population who live in urban areas. The professorship is named for Beverly A. Brown, the long-time development director of the former Center for Global Health and Development and the wife of BU president emeritus Robert A. Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of Shipley\u2019s gift, the number of people living in urban areas worldwide was rapidly approaching parity with the number of people living in rural areas, drawing greater attention to the health challenges and disparities experienced by city dwellers. The establishment of a multidisciplinary professorship dedicated to urban health marked a pivotal moment in BU&#8217;s development as a global research leader poised to address society&#8217;s most pressing challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wellenius succeeds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/patrick-kinney\/\">Patrick Kinney<\/a>, who was the inaugural recipient of the professorship when he joined the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/departments\/environmental-health\/\">Department of Environmental Health<\/a> at the School of Public Health in 2017. Kinney, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2021\/professor-named-one-of-worlds-top-climate-scientists\/\">world-renowned expert<\/a> in air pollution and climate epidemiology, held the position for eight years before retiring in 2025. During his tenure, he catalyzed the growth of a university-wide ecosystem of scholarship&nbsp;at the intersection of explosive urbanization and a rapidly changing climate, attracting numerous like-minded scholars\u2014including Wellenius, who joined SPH in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is such an incredible honor,\u201d says Wellenius. \u201c[Kinney] leaves such big shoes to fill. BU is one of the country\u2019s largest urban universities and has extraordinary depth and breadth of expertise in this area, spanning departments and centers across both campuses. Professor Kinney\u2019s pioneering scholarship in urban climate and health has been key to our outsized impact in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wellenius\u2019s research career mirrors Kinney\u2019s in many ways. Trained as an environmental epidemiologist, Wellenius earned dual doctorate degrees from the Departments of Environmental Health and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Cardiovascular Division of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He served as an associate professor of epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health and director of Brown\u2019s Center for Environmental Health and Technology before coming to BU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While his early research primarily focused on the cardiovascular effects of ambient air pollution, his current work centers on climate and health. He has advanced both scientific and public understanding of the adverse health effects of climate-related hazards, such as extreme heat, severe storms, and air pollution from wildfires and other sources. In recent years, he has increasingly focused on evaluating strategies to reduce these threats with the goal of creating healthier, more resilient, and sustainable communities. Wellenius collaborates extensively with colleagues not only across different departments at SPH but also across campus in the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/earth\/\" target=\"_blank\">BU Departments of Earth &amp; Environment<\/a> and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/biology\/\" target=\"_blank\">Biology<\/a>, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/\" target=\"_blank\">BU URBAN program<\/a>, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/\" target=\"_blank\">BU Initiative on Cities<\/a>, and at the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hic\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hariri Institute for Computational Science &amp; Engineering<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At SPH, Wellenius teaches a graduate course on climate change and public health and serves as the inaugural director of SPH\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/research\/centers-and-groups\/center-for-climate-and-health\/\">Center for Climate and Health<\/a>. He previously served as a visiting scientist at Google and as a member of the executive committee of the <a href=\"https:\/\/onebillionresilient.org\/project\/extreme-heat-resilience-alliance\/\">Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance<\/a> of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. He currently serves as a member of the research committee of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healtheffects.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Effects Institute<\/a>. In recognition of his achievements, Wellenius received the 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/iseepi.org\/tony_mcmichael_mid-term_career.php\">Tony McMichael Mid-Term Career Award<\/a> from the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/faculty-staff-and-students-to-be-recognized-with-2025-sph-awards\/\">2025 Excellence in Research Mentoring Award<\/a> from SPH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/jonathan-levy\/\">Jonathan Levy<\/a>, chair and professor in the Department of Environmental Health, Wellenius has helped transform BU\u2019s climate and health research portfolio. &#8220;Greg took the baton in a lot of ways from Pat, who really helped us to launch in the world of climate and health. Greg saw the opportunity to build something very substantial,&#8221; says Levy &#8220;By 2024\u2014in large part because of Greg&#8217;s wisdom and leadership\u2014we&#8217;ve grown from less than $100,000 to more than $8 million in funding for climate and health. Just leaps and bounds from nothing to, I would argue, one of the top few institutions in the country doing climate and health research.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In assuming the Beverly A. Brown professorship, Wellenius says he looks forward to building on Kinney\u2019s legacy. \u201cIt\u2019s personally very humbling and gratifying, but also such an important recognition of the strength that BU has, broadly speaking, in urban health and, more specifically, in the context of a changing climate and changing environment,\u201d he says. \u201cOur community\u2019s collective efforts at the intersection of urban health and climate change is a perfect example of BU\u2019s focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/articles\/2025\/what-is-convergent-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">convergent research<\/a>. I&#8217;m proud and excited that BU continues to make significant investments in this critical area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re extremely excited and gratified for Greg,&#8221; says Levy. &#8220;I think having the Bev Brown professorship will help him and help us to get to the next level.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brown, the professorship\u2019s namesake, says she is delighted to see Wellenius make strides\u00a0in carrying forth Kinney\u2019s work to safeguard\u00a0vulnerable populations from the health risks of a warming climate.\u00a0\u201cI cannot overstate the importance of what [Greg] is doing at the helm of the Center for Climate and Health,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is really the trifecta of a public health effort: research, impact evaluation, and communication. We have enough questions. What we need are answers, and the Center is coming up with the right answers for what to do in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She adds, \u201cPublic health is a relay race. The problems we deal with are deep-rooted and always evolving. Honoring Greg Wellenius with this professorship successfully passes the baton. I am thrilled at his selection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-three sphnews-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/06\/heat-symposium-600x362-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Attendees of SPH and MAPC&#039;s heat health symposium view a poster on identifying and engaging heat-vulnerable communities.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>School News<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/sph-partners-with-mapc-to-host-symposium-on-heat-health\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">SPH Partners with MAPC to Host Symposium on Heat Health<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">June 26, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/06\/track-storm.-Control-room-back-or-scientists-with-meteorology-for-broadcast-news-report-or-climate-change-at-night-600x362-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"track-storm.-Control-room,-back-or-scientists-with-meteorology-for-broadcast-news,-report-or-climate-change-at-night-600x362\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>hurricanes<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/loss-of-noaa-fema-expertise-will-be-really-difficult-to-rebuild\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Loss of NOAA, FEMA Expertise \u2018Will Be Really Difficult to Rebuild\u2019<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">June 13, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/01\/city-trees-600x362-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Business towers and Green leaves\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>New Orleans<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/professor-awarded-3-2m-grant-to-expand-urban-heat-research\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Professor Awarded $3.2M Grant to Expand Urban Heat Research<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">January 31, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gregory Wellenius has been named the Beverly A. Brown Professor for the Improvement of Urban Health. Endowed in 2012 through a $4 million donation from Boston University trustee emeritus Richard Shipley (SMG\u201968, GSM\u201972), the professorship honors and supports the work of a highly distinguished professor whose research, teaching, and service advance the condition of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22210,"featured_media":257804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[5307,2261,3257,1986,3214,2418],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3519,3908,3529,3541],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[3626,105,2248],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/257768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257768"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/257768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257846,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/257768\/revisions\/257846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=257768"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=257768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}