Harvard medical graduates face uncertain future

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 10 June 2025

save

BOSTON, US: On 28 and 29 May, hundreds of new graduates of Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) and Harvard Medical School (HMS), including many newly qualified Doctors of Dental Medicine, gathered for the customary commencement celebration. As family, friends and teaching staff looked on and applauded their achievements, the unprecedented challenges facing the university and its class of 2025 were laid bare.

Harvard University is currently entwined in a public dispute with the Trump administration as it rebuffs the latter’s attempts to rein in elite US higher education institutions. These events might seem like fiction were it not for the grave implications they hold for academic and scientific freedoms both in the US and abroad. At the time of writing, efforts by the administration to ban the university’s international students from entering the US had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge; however, some US$2.2 billion (€1.9 billion*) in grants and contracts, previously frozen by the administration, remained on ice. Efforts to curb international enrolment at Harvard are primarily aimed at limiting the university’s revenue stream, non-US-born students making up some 27% of the student body and often paying full, unsubsidised tuition fees.

According to an article by HMS, besides commending the achievements of the graduates, speakers at the ceremonies did not hesitate to address the elephant in the room. The most acute challenges facing the institution and graduates, they said, included threats to academic independence and research funding and waning public trust in evidence-based science and healthcare professionals.

Prof. George Q. Daley, dean of HSM, encouraged the graduates to view the challenges as a prompt for action and optimism rather than discouragement, emphasising that opportunities emerge from meaningful efforts made during difficult times. “I have faith in each and every one of you to persist with your crucial work, whether in the clinic, the laboratory, the office or some other equally important domain, not in spite of the current climate but because of it,” Prof. Daley said.

Dean of HSDM Prof. William Giannobile ceded that cruelty, inequity and intolerance were on the rise. He told the graduates: “We see the proliferation of misinformation that leads to poorer health outcomes and puts lives at risk. Your strong character, brilliant minds and resilience are what is needed most right now.”

“[Science] has always spoken many languages.”—Dr Johanna Gutlerner, Harvard Medical School

In a second article, the university outlined the strength granted to its graduates through their collective diversity. Dr Johanna Gutlerner, HMS senior associate dean for graduate education, said: “Among our student body, we’re reminded that science has always spoken many languages and that progress flourishes when we bring different minds, methods and perspectives together.” She added that “collaboration is not optional; it’s essential”.

In April, Harvard refused to comply with a list of demands that the Trump administration said would form the new baseline for a continued funding relationship with the federal government. The demands included the ability to make unspecified changes to the institution’s governance and hiring practices and to conduct audits of academic programmes, departments and even the views of students and staff. President Trump has criticised Harvard for its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Palestine, accusing the university of failing to protect Jewish students and violating civil rights.

HSDM is a popular choice for undergraduate and postgraduate dental students from around the world and is currently ranked tenth globally, according to QS TopUniversities.

Editorial note:

* Calculated on the OANDA platform for 29 May 2025.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Socio-economics and geography determine oral health disparities, not race and ethnicity

BOSTON, US: Astonishingly, ten million school days are missed owing to dental caries, the most common chronic disease of children in the US, and there are ...

Endodontic training: Study calls for standardisation, modernisation

DOHA, Qatar: In the past, studies showed that the technical quality of root canal treatments performed by general dental practitioners and students often ...

New study could help shape guidelines for GenAI use in dental education

RIGA, Latvia: As artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly taking root in dentistry and has the potential to improve clinical care, researchers are performing ...

University in Finland focuses on improving dentist–patient interaction

KUOPIO, Finland: The dynamics of a visit to the dentist extend far beyond the purely technical elements. The psychological comfort of the patient and the ...

US dental hygienist association “strongly opposes” new ADA resolutions

CHICAGO, US: The American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute has found that declining enrolment in dental hygiene programmes is creating a ...

Future-ready dental graduates: Embracing the next wave of digital transformation in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia: Encompassing innovations such as virtual care, remote monitoring, mobile health apps and artificial intelligence (AI), digital health ...

Children’s dental health imperilled by US fluoride bans

BOSTON, US: Among the countless controversial aspects of Donald Trump’s current tenure as the US president, the commitment by Secretary of Health and ...

Poor oral health linked to body pain and migraine in women, study finds

SYDNEY, Australia: The underlying causes of central sensitisation disorders such as migraine and fibromyalgia are poorly understood. The gut–brain axis ...

Education

Live webinar
Tue. 17 June 2025
8:00 PM EST (New York)