Commencement 2014

YSPH graduates urged to protect health advances, secure new ones.

The public health challenges facing the world are daunting—obesity, emerging infectious diseases and health disparities among them.

But there is reason for optimism. Yale School of Public Health Dean Paul D. Cleary told the nearly 140 new public health professionals receiving their degrees this week that their work and commitment to creating a healthier world gave him hope.

“It’s really inspiring to work with you, and I’ve developed a tremendous sense of optimism for the future,” he said.

The graduates will join the ranks of YSPH alumni—some 4,000 health professionals—who are working in nearly 70 countries around the world on a wide variety of health issues and problems.

Associate Professor Marney A. White, who was selected by students as the school’s 2014 teacher of the year, told the graduates Monday (May 19) that she learned much from them during the time they shared in the classroom and looked forward to seeing their accomplishments.

White also shared with the students what the teaching award meant to her. “This is truly the highpoint of my career,” she said.

The ceremony drew hundreds of family and friends of the graduates who travelled from around the country, and in many cases internationally, in order to attend Monday’s ceremony in Yale’s beautiful and historic Battell Chapel.

They heard Oluwayimika Taiwo-Peters, who delivered the student address, talk about her childhood in Nigeria and how her mother, who was in attendance, valued education above all else. Graduating with an M.P.H. is a dream come true. “I never thought I’d end up at a renowned institution like Yale,” she said.

Taiwo-Peters made a point of thanking her mother as well as the many teachers at Yale and those who came before who shaped her interest in public health and desire to learn. She also thanked the many other people at Yale who played a role in her M.P.H education, including the service workers who provide a variety of essential amenities.

Keynote speaker Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, recounted for the graduates some key moments in public health, including the struggle to make birth control readily available for women. She cited the “relentless” work of Margaret Sanger and how her efforts led to the legalization of birth control in the mid 1960s. “This radically altered life for women in America,” Richards said.

But many barriers remain in women’s health and for health in general, she told the audience. There was, for instance, resistance to having birth control coverage included in the Affordable Care Act and a desire to roll back recent health care advances remains strong in some quarters. She told the graduates that it would be up to them to protect these advances and to accomplish others.

“You get to build the world you want to live in,” Richards told the graduates. “You’ve got a lot of work to do. Let's get to it.”

Cleary presented the Dean’s Prize for outstanding M.P.H. theses to four students, Elizabeth Humes, Yasmmyn Salinas, Juliana Urrego and Yuan Zhao. Three other M.P.H. graduates were also recognized: Jensen Reckhow with the Wilbur G. Downs Outstanding Thesis Prize in International Health; Bo Nemelka with the Henry J. (Sam) Chauncey Jr. Inspiration Award; and Mary D’Alimonte with the Lowell Levin Award for Excellence in Global Health.

The school conferred degrees to students in three academic programs: the Master of Public Health, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.

James L. Hadler, a clinical professor at YSPH and the 2014 recipient of the school’s Distinguished Student Mentoring Award, told the students that he enjoyed getting into the “data weeds” with them as they delved into complex public health problems.

“I wish you each a rewarding and stimulating career,” Hadler said. “See you on the [public health] forefront.”