Year-end Celebration, Awards, 2015-16 Annual Report & Strategic Plan launch
June 27/2016
As the academic year comes to a close, I would like to share some highlights of the last few months and acknowledge our well-deserving student, faculty and staff award recipients.
Congratulations to the more than 200 students who graduated earlier this month for reaching this momentous milestone. Convocation is special moment and I am honoured to have shared it with so many of you, both at the convocation ceremony and the inaugural Health for Tomorrow: Year-End Celebration. Close to 150 members of our community attended this convocation celebration, including graduates and student award recipients, on May 31, 2016 at the Gardiner Museum and I look forward to hosting a similar event next spring. Click here for Health for Tomorrow: Year-End Celebration photos.
The year-end celebration also recognized more than 20 school prize recipients in public health sciences for their outstanding academic excellence, contributions to the student body social life and demonstrated leadership. Click here for a list of all School Prizes recipients from the 2015-16 academic year.
In addition to our esteemed students, many faculty and staff were honoured with awards at the Faculty and Staff Lunch on June 16 at the Faculty Club. Read more about the 12 faculty and staff who were recognized for their achievements in teaching, research and service in 2015 and 2016, as well as four notable faculty retirements.
A great way to get a comprehensive picture of the last year is to check out the just-released 2015-16 Annual Report, Diversity and Partnerships in an Evolving Health Landscape. In the report you will see how our faculty, staff, students and alumni are having an impact on health at a high level — for example, by influencing government policy to build healthier cities and communities — and on-the-ground — for example by working one-on-one with marginalized groups to create culturally specific interventions to manage chronic disease.
One important milestone of the last year that is featured in the report is the culmination of the strategic planning exercise, Towards 2021 and Beyond, a one-year consultative process co-chaired by Professors Dan Sellen and Adalsteinn Brown. I extend my since thanks to everyone for participating in the sub-committees, providing input on each sub-committee report, and attending the strategic planning retreat.
Towards 2021 and Beyond is intended to be a “living” document and given public health’s inherent need for adaptability to global and local trends, we will continue to make adjustments to the plan going forward. As always, your feedback on the plan is welcome. I encourage everyone to read the strategic plan, which is available in as an executive summary and full format on the website.
I hope everyone has a superb, restful and safe summer!
Sincerely,
Howard Hu