Letter From the Director
Dear Friends of Global Health Studies at Northwestern,
I’m coming off the weekend having participated in a series of wonderful events celebrating our graduating class of 2025. This year, 129 students graduated with an adjunct major or minor in Global Health Studies, making this our largest graduating class yet. We were honored to be able to celebrate our graduates at a GHS party, and to meet their families, friends, and loved ones, and then congratulate them at the series of graduation events with Weinberg and the wider university over graduation weekend. To all our 2025 grads, congratulations!
In my first year as Director of the program, I can’t help but sit in gratitude. I’m tremendously grateful for our staff, Assistant Director Greg Buchanan and Program Assistant Lauren Carr, who worked tirelessly to pivot as changes were made—internally under new leadership, and externally due to unexpected changes at the university. This program remains strong and resilient because of their constant commitment to continual excellence, and we could not do what we do without them.
I’m also incredibly grateful to our faculty, whose talents and dedication to the program and to our students has provided me with so much support through uncertain times and leadership transitions. In particular, I want to give a shout out to Drs. Peter Locke and Sarah Rodriguez, who, as members of the new “cabinet committee” were stalwart sounding boards, undertaking much of the kind of invisible labor that makes academic units shine. Dr. Bill Leonard continued to be a pivotal mentor through the transition, and I’m so thankful he trusted me to take up the director reins after his 20 years of service in the role.
Our students are the heart of why we do what we do, and this year despite tumultuous circumstances, they just kept showing up ready to learn and to challenge each other with better questions and draft ideas. Being in the classroom with them, thinking about ideas together with them and nurturing their unique voices and insights are what makes being in academia a true pleasure.
Finally, I’m grateful to our donors whose support has always been instrumental to enabling this program to innovate and to support our mission, but as changes occurred at the university, their continued investment in our program has enabled us to continue to provide opportunities for our students that otherwise may not have been available to them.
We’ve got a lot of great activities and accomplishments to announce, from continuing to host prominent scholars in our Speaker Series, to student, faculty, and alumni activities and standout achievements. As we move into the summer months, I wish everyone all the best in hopes that this summer provides rejuvenation and/or growth opportunities. Thank you everyone for your continued support, and we’re looking forward to a great 2025-2026 academic year!
Noelle Sullivan
Director, Program in Global Health Studies