Summer Sherburne Hawkins is new head of BC Global Public Health and the Common Good Program
Boston College School of Social Work Professor Summer Sherburne Hawkins is the new director of the University's Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good, which she helped to create and where she has served as associate director.
Hawkins, who assumed the role this month, takes over from Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D., who has directed the program since it was launched in 2018. In that time, the program has seen exponential growth., including an undergraduate minor launched in 2019, followed by a major in 2023. Student interest remains high, with roughly 3.5 applications for every seat in the major.
“I am excited to continue this work with my faculty colleagues, our current students, and those who will discover a passion for public health at Boston College,” said Hawkins, who was instrumental in starting the University’s public health academic program in 2014, working with faculty from the School of Social Work, Connell School of Nursing, and Lynch School of Education and Human Development.
“Our interdisciplinary program prepares students to address today’s most pressing public health challenges—locally and globally—through a commitment to social justice, research, and community engagement,” she continued. “I look forward to building on the program's strong foundation by expanding opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills needed to improve population health.”
Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
Landrigan will remain the director of BC's Global Observatory on Planetary Health, a research hub that tracks the impacts of planetary degradation – such as climate change, pollution, and hazardous chemicals – on human health and develops science-based solutions.
“I am grateful for Phil’s leadership of the program these past eight years and look forward to his continued contributions to public health on campus and beyond,” Hawkins said. “His vision has helped establish Boston College as a leader in global public health, and I am excited to build on the momentum he has created. I have no doubt that Phil will continue to have a profound impact on policy, science, and the training of future public health leaders.”
Hawkins, who joined BC in 2012, is a social epidemiologist with an interest in addressing policy-relevant research questions in women’s and children’s health. Her research examines the impact of policies on health disparities in parents and children, particularly using methodology that integrates epidemiology and economics. Hawkins has published in prominent peer-reviewed public health journals on the topics of tobacco and cannabis use, maternal morbidity and mortality, infant feeding practices, and preventive health services as well as the impact of state policies on disparities in these health behaviors and outcomes.