Dear Colleague, 

The intensely cold weather this past week has, I hear, not put a damper on the many holiday gatherings that have taken place; I had been invited to six this past weekend alone.  We had things going on at our home that precluded our getting to any of them Friday and Saturday, but I (as a trailing spouse) stopped by the University of Colorado Hospital celebration at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  I was particularly sorry to miss the student winter event Friday night. 

This past Friday marked the 72nd anniversary of the opening of the new Fitzsimons Army Hospital, or what we now call Building 500 for want of a better name.  It was thought to be a boondoggle and a hospital so large it would never be filled, but the events of the next morning (Pearl Harbor) changed both U.S. history and that of this building (at least for the next 55 years).  

I will be unable to attend, but want to congratulate this year’s recipients of the Career Teaching Scholars Awardfrom the Department of Pediatrics.  They are Professors Robert Brayden, MD, and Allison Kempe, MD, MPH, and Clinical Professors Susan Merrill, MD, and Greg Arfsten, MD. The department will present the awards and host a reception on Friday, Dec. 13, at 12:30 p.m. in the Mt. Oxford Auditorium at Children’s Hospital Colorado. This event is a good opportunity to celebrate some of our gifted educators. 

Twenty years ago, with the support of the Colorado Trust, we recruited David Olds, PhD, professor of pediatrics and director of the Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health, from the University of Rochester School of Medicine.  This past week, David and colleagues were the authors of the lead article in JAMA Pediatrics reporting on the study that the Trust funding made possible. There is also an interview with Olds at the JAMA Pediatrics website. 

Erik Wallace, MD, will be joining the School of Medicine in January as associate dean for the Colorado Springs branch. Erik is an associate professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa School of Community Medicine. His experience working in a branch system will be especially valuable as we start our own branch.  Among his many duties, he will collaborate with Colorado Springs hospitals, physicians and School of Medicine faculty in recruiting physician preceptors. 

We said good-bye to Celia Kaye, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for education, on Dec. 2. Celia is officially retiring at the end of the month, but with hectic schedules this month, last Monday was the only time we could organize a farewell event that most of us could attend.  It was an excellent opportunity to say thank you and give our best wishes for a happy retirement. Celia has been a remarkable leader for our education team, nurturing the program’s growth while helping us meet all the credentialing and other needs that constantly demand attention. We have benefited from Celia’s dedicated and compassionate leadership. 

I hope many of you can plan to attend the State of the School Address on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 4:30 p.m. in the Hensel Phelps West Auditorium. There will be live broadcasts to Denver Health, National Jewish Health, the VA Medical Center and the University’s downtown campus.  Hint: It has been another good year!  We will post the slides (and maybe the talk) on our webpage next week. 

Have a good week,

Richard D. Krugman, MD
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine

"What’s Going On Here" is an email news bulletin from Richard Krugman, MD, Dean of the CU School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty members about issues pertaining to the School’s mission of education, research, clinical care and community service. See the UCH-Insider →

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