Dear colleague: 

There’s a new sign adorning the building that houses the headquarters of our group practice at 13199 E. Montview Blvd. Last week, the name at the top was changed to University of Colorado Medicine, and now proudly displays our CU logo. Last year, the leadership of the practice plan agreed to update the name under which it does business from the long-held University Physicians, Inc., to University of Colorado Medicine, which we are also calling CU Medicine. CU Medicine provides business operations and administrative support to nearly 3,000 providers of the School of Medicine.

As I mentioned last week, the School of Medicine, in partnership with PreMed StAR, has produced three videos called “Black Men and Women in White Coats” to share the education and inspiration of three members of our academic community. Last week we launched the series with medical student Bailey Loving. This week, we’re featuring Vaughn Browne, MD, PhD, associate professor of emergency medicine. Vaughn joined the School of Medicine in 2003. In his video, he discusses how he decided to pursue medicine after his younger brother died in a cholera epidemic.  His message is that we have a responsibility to help one another. “I am here because dozens of people invested their lives and their dreams and hopes in me as a young student,” he says. “I think the same thing is critical now. We need to be advocates to improve the representation of minority physicians all the way through the pipeline of training and professional career.” 

Nichole Zehnder, MD, associate professor of medicine and assistant dean for admissions, has agreed to serve as the interim director of the Academy of Medical Educators, succeeding Eva Aagaard, MD, professor of medicine, who previously announced that she is joining Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis as senior associate dean for education. Nichole is a dedicated and gifted educator, who became an assistant clerkship director and then clerkship director of the Hospitalized Adult Care block shortly after completing her residency here at the School of Medicine. The curricula she has developed and implemented are consistently rated among the best by our medical students. As assistant dean for admissions, Nichole has helped lead improvements in the process for recruiting and selecting medical students, expanded diversity in our incoming classes and boosted our scholarship program. 

The National Behavioral Health Innovation Center announced last Monday two new leaders have joined the center: Rick Rekedal, a former senior executive with DreamWorks Animation, and Walter Greenleaf, PhD, a behavioral neuroscientist and medical product developer. Rick will be senior creative advisor, consulting on how to elevate the national conversation on mental health. Walter, who will continue to work as a visiting scholar at the Stanford University Virtual Interaction Lab, will be the center’s director of technology strategy. Please join me in welcoming both to our campus. 

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine