For Dr. Melinda Pettigrew, PhD ’99, returning to the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) to accept the Distinguished Alumni Award felt like coming full circle. “I found my clarity, purpose, and passion here at YSPH,” said Pettigrew. “I owe a huge chunk of my success to this institution.”
“I did not grow up thinking I wanted to be a dean,” she said while accepting her award at Alumni Day. But, she had ideas for improving curriculum and the student experience and was encouraged to pursue them by former deans Dr. Paul Cleary, PhD, Anna M. R. Lauder Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, and Dr. Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, now senior associate vice president and health dean at the University of South Florida.
She almost declined the chance to join the faculty in 2002. A teaching fellowship at Haverford College made her think she might prefer a small liberal arts college.
She did not, however, want to disappoint Dr. Curtis Patton, PhD, professor emeritus of epidemiology (microbial diseases). She wrote out a list of the reasons for withdrawing from consideration and called him. He listened patiently while she went through the list, then said ‘Dr. Pettigrew, I understand you have concerns about the school. You can fix Yale when you come back here. I’ll see you in February,’ then hung up the phone.
“I reflect on that often,” she said during her acceptance remarks. “Often, we are the ones holding ourselves back. I was raising concerns and Dr. Patton was essentially saying ‘you have to be part of the solution.’”
Over time, “I do feel like I changed the culture,” she said. “I feel like I had an impact at the school.” Among her points of pride are developing academic programs that cut across disciplines and schools, and expanding the academic affairs team, bringing in Dr. Mike Honsberger, PhD, as director. She also oversaw the development of online education degree and certificate programs. As interim dean, she conducted a deep assessment of the school’s operations and finances, helping position the school for Dean Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, and the transition to independence.
Besides Patton, she cited as important mentors Dr. Nancy Ruddle, PhD ’68, professor emeritus of epidemiology, and Dr. Scott O’Neill, PhD, who served as the primary advisor for her doctoral studies. She is an internationally recognized infectious disease epidemiologist conducting research on the global health threat of antibiotic resistance.
“You always need more than one mentor,” said Pettigrew. She said you also need to know when to follow your instincts — when she returned to YSPH, she quickly got involved in administrative tasks, at a time when her mentors advised her to focus on getting grants and publishing papers. She did those things, too, but felt strongly that the academic programs needed to better align with faculty research strengths and provide students with the skills to address evolving public health challenges.
Although she now leads a different institution, she plans to continue contributing to YSPH’s success as an adjunct faculty member in the Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases Department and as a proud alumna.
“I’m deeply moved and honored,” she said of the award. “It’s been a really challenging year and it’s nice to get some good news.”