One year into his tenure, Chan School principal prioritizes instigating change amidst significant hurdles

Since assuming the role of dean of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in January 2024, Andrea Baccarelli has been steering transformations.

On his very first day, Baccarelli stepped into a climate where the conflict in Gaza exerted pressures across the campus. More recently, swift changes in federal policies have presented immediate ramifications for the Chan School. With around 60 percent of its revenue stemming from research grants, predominantly from the federal government, the School would face a hefty setback to its budget if significant reductions proposed by the National Institutes of Health and other bodies were enacted. To address these potential impacts, Baccarelli has assembled a financial planning team consisting of senior leadership, including heads of academic departments.

In the midst of these challenges, Baccarelli has been formulating strategies to broaden Harvard Chan School’s influence by fostering high-quality, interdisciplinary, solutions-oriented science. In this modified dialogue with the Gazette, Baccarelli elaborates on this vision and his methods for tackling current funding uncertainties.

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You recently unveiled your “AAA Vision” for Harvard Chan School. What does it encompass?

Our mission revolves around saving lives through top-tier science. That directive hasn’t shifted since our institution was established 112 years ago. We possess an outstanding record of achievement. For example, researchers from our School developed a cost-effective, easily distributable rehydration solution that has saved over 25 million children from fatalities due to diarrheal disease. They have engineered sterile mosquitoes to eliminate malaria and are working on innovative treatments for diabetes. Grounded in this legacy of excellence, the AAA Vision serves as a strategic roadmap for amplifying our impact. The three As, which emerged from my listening tour, signify agile, accessible, and accountable.

Agility involves the capacity to quickly adapt to seize new opportunities. As a School, we must embrace a more entrepreneurial spirit. This will necessitate forging partnerships — both within and beyond Harvard — with diverse individuals who are not conventional allies for public health, such as engineers and corporate leaders. I believe we all have a vested interest in crafting solutions to challenges with substantial human and economic tolls, such as escalating instances of Alzheimer’s and the proliferation of multi-drug-resistant infections. Public health is fundamentally about addressing these challenges, and we are prepared to collaborate with anyone capable of contributing.

The second A, accessibility, pertains to both education and research. I aspire to greatly enhance our educational provisions by introducing more short courses and certificate offerings and by making more content available online. There exists a significant demand for public health education in virtually every profession, and Harvard Chan School has the potential to be a central hub for individuals seeking to develop their skills at any point in their career journey.

In terms of research, it is essential that we continually strive to present our findings to pharmaceutical executives, biotech investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, the public, and prospective collaborators — to ensure our science remains accessible. Ultimately, our objective is not merely to advance knowledge in the abstract, but to create solutions that will significantly impact people’s lives.

The final A represents accountability. We must uphold our mission by providing the highest quality education and conducting research with maximum impact to enhance health across all communities. We need to be accountable to our core values as well. Public health begins at home, and I am dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive community where everyone feels welcome and appreciated.

How are you observing the impacts at Harvard Chan School due to uncertainties stemming from changes in federal policy, especially given the School’s heavy reliance on federal grants?

Regrettably, we have witnessed the termination of more than a dozen federal grants thus far, as they do not align with the newly established priorities at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. These cancellations have abruptly halted significant research initiatives.

Similar to the rest of the University, we are diligently keeping an eye on the proposed NIH reduction to facilities and administration funding. Often referred to as “indirect” funding, F&A funding is far from indirect. It truly is crucial funding for research. A decrease of the magnitude suggested by the NIH — to a flat rate of 15 percent — would be catastrophic. It would severely impact our capacity to conduct essential research in areas like cancer prevention, decelerating neurodegeneration, and identifying dietary factors linked to longevity.

As dean, how do you plan to bridge this chasm in federal funding to sustain research at the School? Is it possible for philanthropy to compensate?

Philanthropy plays a critical role in bolstering our research and educational missions, but it’s impractical to anticipate that it could compensate for our long-standing collaboration with the federal government. Nonetheless, we are vigorously working to engage potential donors to convey the importance of our work. In fact, I have just returned from a trip to Europe, where I engaged with supporters in multiple countries. The primary message I relayed was that our research has tangible effects in the real world, contributing to shaping policies and programs that promote health. And donors can make that research feasible.

For instance, private philanthropy has just funded a decade-long study of the health effects of wildfires. This work is groundbreaking: A multi-institutional team led by Harvard Chan researchers is evaluating all the pollutants that residents near the Los Angeles wildfires have been exposed to, tracking how these toxins disperse or dissipate.

“`over time, and monitoring the immediate and prolonged health impacts. It’s a critically significant study, entirely facilitated by a compassionate benefactor who adores L.A. and aims to safeguard public health. I aspire to foster additional partnerships with philanthropists who resonate with our objective of employing science to create a landscape where everyone can flourish.

Revisiting the AAA Vision: Could you elaborate on how you’re addressing accountability and what that entails concerning the mission?

Absolutely. In fact, it’s essential to our operations at the Harvard Chan School.

We must establish systems that guarantee our School’s courses and degree programs consistently provide the utmost level of quality. As a preliminary step, I have recently appointed a faculty committee to evaluate the procedures and criteria for hiring and renewing faculty. At Harvard Chan School, instructors are non-ladder appointees who play a vital role in classroom education. I have tasked this committee with ensuring rigor and uniformity in how our instructors are hired and renewed, as well as guaranteeing they possess the outstanding academic qualifications and specific expertise necessary to educate with the depth and rigor our students merit. We will subsequently undergo a similar evaluation for each level of academic appointment at Harvard Chan School — lecturers, research scientists, adjuncts, etc. To complement this initiative, I also intend to enhance our internal review protocols for courses and degree programs to ensure they consistently adhere to the highest academic standards.

Likewise, I have also reinstated periodic evaluations of our centers and programs to guarantee the premier quality of scholarship and educational excellence. For instance, late last summer we commenced a thorough assessment of our FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. We have assembled a distinguished panel of experts to undertake this evaluation, which will conclude this spring. The mandate for this review panel is to meticulously appraise the FXB Center’s current position and future possibilities, providing honest, straightforward, and comprehensive feedback, including any deficiencies or areas of concern, to ensure the Center meets—and is upheld to—the highest standards of excellence anticipated of a University-wide center at Harvard. While this assessment is in progress, we have suspended the formal collaboration between the FXB Center and Birzeit University. This allows the panel to objectively investigate partnerships and collaborations, ensuring the center exemplifies academic excellence in alignment with our mission. We will carry out similar regular assessments for all our centers and programs.

I’m also focusing significantly on fostering a diverse culture that aligns with our values. From my initial communications to the community, I have sought to clarify that we should all anticipate exposure to viewpoints we may disagree with, including those that may offend us, during our tenure at Harvard. Such experiences are to be expected at any university that prioritizes free expression and academic freedom. Naturally, I have zero tolerance for any discourse or behavior that equates to discrimination or harassment—such conduct is entirely unacceptable and will be addressed decisively at our School. However, I have stressed the importance of being open to learning from individuals with differing perspectives—and the significance of communicating respectfully and with integrity.

To develop these skills, my team and I initiated a program called Harvard Chan LEADs, which stands for Learn and Engage Across Differences. We developed a new component for orientation to engage students with these ideals as soon as they set foot on campus. Since then, we have organized numerous workshops and events, including specialized training sessions to assist faculty in promoting respectful dialogue in the classroom, even when discussions are contentious.

Additionally, I’m launching the Harvard Chan Citizenship Awards. This recognition will be awarded annually to three individuals—a student, a staff member, and an academic appointee—who best embody our principles and have contributed the most to fostering a culture of pluralism and inclusivity. It’s all part of ensuring we stay true to our mission, our values, and one another.

What are some of the primary methods you’re employing to enhance the other two As, agile and accessible?

We have made strides towards enhancing both our education and our research accessibility. In terms of education, I established a working group to evaluate opportunities for broadening our non-degree offerings. For research, our Center for Health Communication has embarked on an innovative initiative to connect our faculty with social media creators, aimed at increasing the volume of scientific content on platforms such as TikTok.

Regarding agility, I’m genuinely thrilled to collaborate with Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on a research initiative that exemplifies the kind of interdisciplinary problem-solving I aspire to see more frequently. Our objective is to devise new frameworks for prioritizing and incentivizing preventive healthcare in the U.S. Transitioning to preventive measures could save significant funds and alleviate considerable suffering, making this project one of immense potential.