Building an Enduring DrPH Community

In late November, ten Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health met at GHELI to brainstorm ideas for an alumni day event, considering potential speakers and possible themes that would expand understanding of the DrPH program, as well as create continuity and purpose for current students in the program.  

Considerable interest was shared in the idea of speakers or alumni presenters who occupy positions that reflect the goals of current students, who might speak to the challenges that DrPh-ers face in pursuing their careers in fields that do not always recognize the virtues of the program. Positions in state and local government that require an MD degree, for example, might recognize the DrPH as well. A possible theme for the event might be “connections” with the outside world, emphasizing local contacts in the Boston area. All are very interested in hearing about pathways to success.

The doctoral students entertained several creative ideas for the format of this event, such as a “staged dialogue” in which a series of prepared questions are advanced to carefully selected interlocutors. Questions might be solicited online in advance, curated by a “question committee,” and posed by an interlocutor or panel chair, for example. Equal attention was paid to the question of audience, and whether there should be a regional, local, or Harvard focus for the event.

DrPH students Ta-wei Lin and Christina Alonso led the meeting in a highly collaborative manner that led to an exciting conversation of the sort that Faculty Director Sue Goldie hopes to inspire in the GHELI space.