Presidents and Movies

Meeting with the Alumni Association Past Presidents

Friday, I met with 10 past Presidents of the Alumni Association, dating from 1981 and the current President Jacky Rosati, PhD, MA. As people know, I don’t love meetings, but I love these kinds of meetings, because I learn about the School’s history, and get to know the people who made it what it is today. I was so impressed not just by their love for the School and their fond memories of it, but also by their commitment to work with us to solve some of today’s challenges. I also was struck by the stories they told about their faculty mentors—people who’d opened their homes to them when they’d arrived in town, invited them to dinners and been there for more than just perfunctory advice. There is no question that one of the strongest attributes of our School are the strong connections between faculty, staff and students. As we grow and as money becomes even tighter, we will have to work extra hard not to lose the characteristic that sets us apart from most other schools.  Thanks to Cutler Andrews for his excellent work engaging the Presidents and reaching out to alumni. Thanks also to Lyne Gamble, Janice Periquet and Steve Couch for their work with alumni.

Movie Producers at UNC

Earlier in the week, Professor Tom Linden, MD, Director Medical Journalism, emailed me to say that his (current and former) students and he had produced a short movie “Environmental Heroes” that was selected to be shown at the Carrboro Film Festival. My husband Bernard and I decided to go, and we were impressed. Team members from the SPH included Kathryn Barr, Jessica Hughes, Jiang Li, Kevin McKenna, Julea Steiner and Emily Waters. The movie focuses on three environmental heroes in North Carolina—one who has developed an impressive composting business for environmentally sound waste treatment; another worked with the Concerned Citizens of Tillery and others to fight unfair practices of the hog industry and to promote regulations on hog lagoons and other threats to environmental and human health, and another person who has created a very successful organization to protect Bogue Sound. Each of the stories was moving and reminds us how many ways there are to take positive action that can make a difference. I was especially moved by the interview with Gary Grant, the hero from Tillery who talked about the efforts there. Associate Professor Steve Wing, PhD, MA, who has conducted important research on hog waste in the community, was interviewed. It is a terrific project. Now that we have a certificate in health communication with several schools, including Journalism and Mass Communication, I hope we will see even more efforts like this production.

Happy Monday.
Barbara