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Marc Roberts recognized for 46 years of service to Harvard

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When Arnold Epstein meets Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) alumni on his frequent travels in the U.S. and abroad, he’s often asked about Marc Roberts, professor of political economy emeritus. “They always want to know how Marc is, and they always want to tell me anecdotes about how he had a really important impact on what they took away from the School of Public Health. In many ways, he is the human face of HSPH,” Epstein told a packed audience March 7, 2013, in Kresge G2.

Epstein, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management and John H. Foster Professor of Health Policy and Management, organized the symposium and retirement celebration at which faculty, students, and others paid tribute to Roberts for 46 years of service to Harvard. “I want to congratulate Marc for a really wonderful tour of duty,” Epstein said. “It’s quite a legacy.”

At Harvard Roberts has taught economics, statistics, ethics, management, environmental policy and health policy at Harvard’s Faculty of the Arts and Sciences, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and for the past 30 years, at HSPH. In what he calls his “quasi-retirement,” Roberts continues to play a leading role in the World Bank’s training efforts on health sector reform around the world, having taught courses and seminars for senior government leaders in nearly 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica. In the U.S. he remains an active consultant, helping organizations adjust to changing market conditions.