THE CHALLENGE: To re-envision and redesign Harvard Medical School’s alumni magazine to the satisfaction of both alumni and administrators

THE SOLUTION: When the school’s leadership announced a change in the mandate of the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin to become more of a research-focused magazine, the alumni who had cherished its long literary tradition of essays by doctors were alarmed. I was charged with overseeing the magazine’s most ambitious redesign in decades, soothing relations, and overcoming the skepticism of leaders of the Alumni Association, which had been the magazine’s official publisher for eight decades.

For the premiere issue of Harvard Medicine, I chose a theme—the five senses—that would allow us to showcase both the literary talents and scientific advances of Harvard doctors. For each of the five senses, I asked a Harvard Medical School graduate or faculty member to write an essay. Research buffets followed each of those essays.

In planning the issue, I kept in mind that while neurologists disagree on the number of human senses, they do agree that our senses are not limited to five. So we closed out the special report with an alumna-written essay on synesthesia, a sidebar on other human senses, and an alumnus-authored piece on the sixth sense.

THE RESPONSE: The premiere issue of Harvard Medicine reassured alumni leaders we would not be publishing a formulaic medical school magazine, offering a bland diet of institutional news, or creating a barely disguised fundraising brochure. The reader response was so enthusiastic we were grateful one of the letters to the editor offered a mild criticism of the design, as we didn’t want anyone to suspect we had suppressed any negativity.

The issue received a gold medal from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in the Periodical Special Issues category and a gold medal Editorial Excellence Award from Folio: Magazine in the Association/Non-Profit category.