Admiral Rachel Levine to Deliver 2023 SPH Convocation Address.
Admiral Rachel Levine to Deliver 2023 SPH Convocation Address
Levine, assistant secretary for health under the Biden administration and former secretary of health for Pennsylvania, has been a vocal advocate for health equity and access to care for all.
Admiral Rachel Levine, a respected physician and public health advocate who currently serves as Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will deliver the 2023 Boston University School of Public Health Convocation Address.
Admiral Levine graduated from Harvard College and earned her medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in pediatrics at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. As a physician and later as a professor, she focused on the intersection between mental and physical health for children, adolescents, and young adults.
Levine’s expertise in public health and medicine led to her appointment as the Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2017. In this role, she oversaw the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the implementation of public health measures such as mask mandates and business restrictions.
Levine also holds the rank of admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the branch of the nation’s eight uniformed services that is committed to the service of health. USPHS officers advance the nation’s public health by serving in agencies across the government as physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, scientists, engineers and other professionals.
Admiral Levine has been a vocal advocate for health equity and access to care for all. Her work has focused on addressing the social determinants of health, promoting evidence-based practices, and advancing public health research and innovation. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and the Academy for Eating Disorders. She was also the President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
The BUSPH Convocation will be held Saturday, May 20, at 9:30 am, at the BU Track & Tennis Center. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live broadcast (with CART transcription), starting at 9:30 am ET on May 20 via livestream. CART (Speech to Text) is also available via personal phone/tablet during the ceremony at the following link: go.bu.edu/ttc