What drew me to Brown more than five years ago was a belief that this was a community unlike any other. A place where we tackle the big issues of our time, where we engage deeply with the world and where students, faculty, staff and alumni work across disciplines, across campus and around the world.

At that time, it was just a belief based on what I had heard in conversations and seen from afar. Now, after five-plus years, and especially after this last week, I know it to be a fact. 

Brown University, and our School of Public Health, are special places in this world and they will forever have a special place in my heart. That heart broke last weekend with the awful attack on our campus that took the lives of two of our wonderful students - a loss that, as a parent, I know will never fully heal.

However, what I witnessed in the hours and days since, in our school, across the campus, and in our Providence community, has demonstrated what I have come to appreciate most about our community. We step up for each other, we work together and we are resilient in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. Through it all, no matter what we may face, we work in service to others. We work to make the lives and health of our communities – near and far – better. That is Brown. That is you.

While my time as dean has drawn to a close, my love and admiration for this institution, and most importantly its people, is ever true.

Sincerely,

Ashish Jha, M.D., MPH
Dean, Brown University School of Public Health