First Convocation Held as Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions

Sean Hennessey

Date

October 1, 2026

Topics

Campus Culture

Symbolic start of academic year honors faculty and staff, pays tribute to past, includes video cameo from Boston Bruns goalie

Fresh off the heels of a new name and the inauguration of its new president, the Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions symbolically kicked off its academic year with Convocation, a celebration of colleagues, accomplishments, and mission. Nearly 200 came to 1 CW for the annual gathering.

In her first convocation, newly inaugurated President Deborah Jones spoke of the role the University community has in shaping the healthcare journey.

“It's that faculty member that just stays a few minutes longer just to help that student make it click,” observed Jones. “It's that staff member that solves a problem that the student had no idea how to navigate. That clinical educator who gives them confidence to just try again, you'll get it. Try again. Someone in financial aid, someone in student affairs, in IT, in facilities, in our library, in our research administration offices, or one of other dozen roles make something possible that a student may not have even realized could have gone differently.

“For you all, it's just another day. This is what you do, but eventually, that student walks out of our university ready to care for someone that none of us may ever meet, or maybe, perhaps, it is one of our loved ones. That's the impact that you make every single day, and that's the kind of impact that makes this university special, and that this university makes possible. And that's why today matters”

woman standing a podium smiling — President Deborah Jones welcomed faculty and staff to the 2026 Convocation.

man standing to the left of a woman holding a glass award — Nara Gavini poses with Professor of Occupational Therapy and Director of the Cancer Rehabilitation (CaRe) Lab, Kathy Lyons, winner of the Excellence in Research Mentoring Award.

man standing next to woman holding award — Associate Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Kevin Finn, presented the Provost Collaboration Awards to Deborah Altsher, Director of Financial Aid in the Office of Enrollment Services.

man and woman holding award — Associate Provost for Research Nara Gavini presented the Excellence in Research Award to Professor of Healthcare Data Analytics Annie B. Fox.

woman with glasses next to man with glasses — 2025 Nancy T. Watts Award Winner and Distinguished Teaching Professor of Health Professions Education, Bobbie Ann Adair White, presented the 2026 Watts Award to Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Chris Clock.

woman standing at podium with long hair — Vice President of Rehabilitation Services at Mass General Brigham, Lindsey Hack, welcomed faculty and staff to the 2026 Convocation Ceremony.

man holds a glass award — Chief Health Equity and Community Excellence Officer Kimberly Truong presented Nursing Professor Abraham Ndiwane with the Sustained Leadership Award for Mission, Values, and Community Excellence.

two women posing in front of a branded background — Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Dean for Interprofessional Education and Practice, Regina Doherty, presented the Award for Excellence in Advancing Interprofessional Education and Practice to Professor of Physical Therapy, Prudence Plummer.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Lindsey Hack, the inaugural Vice President of Rehabilitation Services for Mass General Brigham. She told the audience of just under 200 about the importance of leveraging academic partnerships and enhancing clinical affiliation opportunities in a way that’s meaningful for aspiring clinicians, our clinical instructors, and patients.

“It is also our hope that this intentionality will allow for more patients to reach their benchmarks sooner than ever before,” she said. “It is my hope that the clinical Mass General Brigham program can enhance our partnership with the University of Health Professions to impact postgraduate education in scalable ways, from residencies to fellowships to full day symposiums to multiple day symposiums. We want our teams to feel like they are in the utopia for rehabilitation services education, whether you are a student, a frontline clinician, a rehabilitation leader, an educator, or a researcher.”

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Chris Clock took home the day’s most prestigious award: the Nancy T. Watts Award for Teaching Excellence. Named for Professor Emerita Nancy T. Watts, who helped found what is now the University and later served as a faculty member, administrator, and mentor, the Watts Award is the highest honor a faculty member can receive.

Colleagues, former students, and a current student all weighed in during the video tribute on what makes Clock so effective as an educator.

Colleague Ben Adams, Director of the Clinical Residencies in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and Sports Physical Therapy, called Clock the “faculty dad.”

chris clock, assistant professor, department of physical therapy

“Chris is really good at listening, so he creates the safe space by giving people, students, and others the opportunity to speak their truth,” said Adams. “He'll lean into it. He knows when to push and prod a little bit more, and when to back off and just listen.”

“What we hear most about Chris is that Chris is not going to leave any student behind,” said Keshrie Naidoo, Chair of the Physical Therapy department. “Chris is going to hang in there with them until they get their questions answered, until they understand the concept before he's ready to move on.”

“Chris does a good job with making me feel like I am capable,” observed Kate Rowland, DPT ’27. “And I sometimes feel like I would come out of his meetings, kind of learning something new about myself. He would listen while we talked, and then would say, you know, after hearing this, this is what I think. And I was like, ‘Oh, I didn't really think about that.”

Added Clarence Lee, DPT ’24: “I think Chris cultivated an environment in which everyone felt safe to be vulnerable, and I think that stems from how he models that behavior, being willing to embrace uncertainty. So, with the reality of our profession and everything always evolving and newest research coming out, I think you have to have a humble mindset.”

For Clock’s part, he was stunned at winning the Watts Award.

“It was great to hear all those words from my colleagues. I may have to get after some of them for the ‘Faculty Dad’ comment,” said Clock with a smile. “I’m just incredibly honored to be a part of this group of people. I came here as a clinician and these people around me brought me to be the teacher that I am. So, yes, it's one part me, but it's also 99 parts other people. It’s amazing.”

Sustained Leadership Award

Additional Faculty and Staff Awards

Sustained Leadership Award for Mission, Values, and Community Excellence, which honors a distinguished faculty or staff member who have sustained commitment to the University’s mission, values, and community excellence: Abraham Ndiwane, Associate Professor of Nursing.

“This award to me is recognition of a process and not an end to our professional and community service-learning mandate,” Ndiwane said. “I am elated and very humbled to accept this prestigious award that recognizes excellence in the work that reflects our culturally diverse community where we live in, learn from, work with and serve. This mutual/symbiotic relationship and commitment to serve our community is one of several ways, I believe demonstrates our mission and values. Thank you for recognizing my work in attaining this goal. It is a win-win for our students, community, and health professions.”

abraham ndiwane winner of sustained leadership award

Award for Excellence in Advancing Interprofessional Education and Practice, which honors someone who distinguishes themselves in advancing IPEP, interprofessional education and practice, either within collaboration with the University or outside, across our partners: Pru Plummer, Professor of Physical Therapy (watch the video)

“It is such an honor to be recognized for my interprofessional mentorship and collaborations,” said Plummer. “Mentorship is one of the most rewarding and satisfying aspects of my work, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities that I have been provided at the University to serve as a mentor to our own faculty and trainees, and more recently, to clinicians across the MGB network.”

Provost Collaboration Award, which recognizes individuals or teams who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing the academic excellence of the University through collaborative efforts: Deborah Altsher, Director of Financial Aid and Kate Metzger, Associate Director of Admission Operations and Systems.

“I’m truly honored and grateful to receive the Provost’s Award for Collaboration,” reflected Altsher. “This has been a challenging year with so many changes in financial aid, both for us and especially for our students.

“I’m thankful to work with such supportive colleagues who come together, help each other, and always keep our students at the center of what we do. Thank you for this recognition. I’m grateful to be part of such a great community.”

"Receiving the Provost Collaboration award was incredibly meaning to me,” said Metzger. “I'm not going to lie — being called up in front of everyone was terrifying! But collaboration is a huge part of what I love about working with my colleagues, and it meant a lot to have this work and those relationships recognized. I truly am incredibly grateful for the people I get to work with every day."

New Investigator Award went to: Megan Schliep, Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders (watch the video)

“I am honored to have been recognized with Mass General Brigham University’s 2026 New Investigator Award,” Schliep noted. “I have been mentored by many senior research colleagues at the University, which has supported me in developing a programmatic line of research in optimizing clinical systems for individuals with communication impairment. The interdisciplinary collaborations I've been able to foster at the University have been particularly meaningful in my work as an early career researcher and have been instrumental to my productivity and growth.”

Excellence in Research Award went to Annie Fox, Professor, Healthcare Data Analytics (watch the video)

“Receiving this award is deeply meaningful to me because it affirms that the work I’m doing matters and is making a difference,” fox said. “But research is never a solo endeavor. I'm a team scientist at heart, and this recognition reflects not only my success but the success of the remarkable collaborators I'm fortunate to work with, both within and outside of Mass General Brigham University.”

Excellence in Research Mentoring Award, which goes to faculty who has excelled as a mentor and can include research mentoring, professional development and research networking, and guidance on integrating teaching and research, went to Kathy Lyons, Professor, Occupational Therapy (watch the video)

“Over the years, I have been blessed with wise, generous mentors who have helped me to find my way in science,” said Lyons. “To be nominated by my mentees warms my heart; I am so honored to light the way for others and to kindle their passion for research!”

Faculty Promotions

To Assistant Professor:

Kate Kieran, School of Nursing
Jessica Spissinger, Physician Assistant Studies
To Associate Professor:
Jane Baldwin, Physical Therapy
Marziye Eshghi, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Rania Karim, Physical Therapy
Kim Mace, Health Sciences
Kathy Sabo, School of Nursing
Rachel Cox Simms, School of Nursing
Laura Wolford, Communication Science and Disorders
To Professor:
Suellen Breakey, School of Nursing
Annie Fox, Healthcare Data Analytics
Eleonor Pusey-Reid, School of Nursing

Seventeen faculty and staff completed the Academic Leadership Academy.

Near the end of the ceremony, before the attendees enjoyed the food and drinks that followed convocation, the audience was treated to a special video message from Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, who talked about how the University is a big part of making the city of Boston one of the best in the world at helping people (watch the video).

Board of Trustee member John Herman, MD, closed the ceremony with a toast to the University’s new name and paid tribute to its history.

“In the late 60s, John Knowles, then general director of the hospital, proposed the idea of an MGH university,” reflected Herman. “What we are marking today really is not the invention of something new, but the arrival of a name that finally describes what this institution has been becoming for a long time. The institution has kept changing its name because its work has kept outgrowing the previous name, but the purpose underneath those names has remained remarkably constant.”