Dear Members of the HMS Community:
Early in my deanship, I charged a committee to review and update our mission and community values statements, which we revisit periodically to ensure that they continue to articulate who we are and what guides our work. Given how much change Harvard Medical School has experienced since then, I once again convened a committee representing a cross section of our community to examine our mission and values and confirm that they effectively represent us.
After internal discussions that produced a series of revised drafts, the committee solicited extensive community feedback through an online survey and several in-person sessions, including with the likes of our pre-clinical chairs and our Faculty and Alumni Councils. Some of the feedback-informed revisions made by the committee involved evolving the mission statement to focus more on the core goals of what we do, and the community values to better define who we are and the principles that guide our work.
After extensive consideration and deliberation, the committee has finalized its revisions to the HMS mission and community values, which are now live on our website. I’d like to thank the committee and particularly co-chairs Joan Reede, dean for culture and community engagement, and Peter Howley, the Shattuck Professor of Pathological Anatomy in the Department of Immunology. Reaffirming an institution’s mission and community values is a weighty responsibility; it requires openness to new ideas, rigorous analysis of old ones, and careful evaluation of all perspectives. I want to thank each member of the HMS community who submitted suggestions and thoughtful feedback — your participation was a critical part of this process.
The committee has also made some updates to the Statement of Mutual Respect and Public Discourse at HMS. As a reminder, the Rules of the Road slide is an excellent resource available for your use at events and meetings.
In closing, I am happy to share a new video produced by our Office for Communications and External Relations that showcases our mission in action. I hope this representation of our unshakeable commitment to science, education, and clinical care inspires pride in our community and admiration for our collective impact.
Sincerely,
George Q. Daley
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Harvard University