Dear Colleague, 

Fourth-year medical students, third-year child health associate/physician assistant (CHAPA) students and third-year physical therapy students are in the countdown to graduation. The ceremonies will begin Thursday afternoon with the CHAPA ceremony, followed by the rest on Friday morning. The long range weather forecast looks good for Friday morning. I thought about the weather yesterday as I sat on the runway in Atlanta in a pouring rain storm waiting for President Obama to get the clearance he needed for Air Force One to take him back to Washington. He had been the speaker on a soggy Sunday at the Morehouse College graduation and then he stopped for a quick fundraising lunch in northwest Atlanta. He got to the airport just as we did in mid-afternoon. He didn’t need to go through security…. 

We will have a president at our graduation ceremony. Darrell Kirch, MD, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges will be here to receive an honorary degree from his twin alma maters: his BA was from the University of Colorado Denver and his MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The Class of 1963 will be part of the Hooding and Oath Ceremony that follows.  Patricia Gabow, MD, former Chief Executive Officer of Denver Health, will be the speaker for the graduating medical school class of 2013. It should be a nice day with a lot of sunshine;  no rain is in the forecast.

This week is the peak week for dinner invitations. Monday is the MSTP graduation dinner; Tuesday, the Alpha Omega Alpha Banquet; Thursday, the Silver and Gold Banquet; and then there are ten reunion dinners to go to on Friday and Saturday night before I begin a weekend-long recovery.  

Effective June 1, the School of Medicine will reorganize the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Admissions into an Office of Student Life. Maureen Garrity, PhD, who served previously as Associate Dean of Admissions and is currently Associate Dean of Student Affairs, has agreed to lead this office, serving as Associate Dean for Student Life.  For the first year, Ozzie Grenardo, MD, MPH, MBA, will report to her as Interim Assistant Dean for Admissions and Terri Blevins will report to her as Interim Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.  For the newly combined office, we are recruiting a Director of the Office of Student Life. A search committee for the position has been formed, chaired by Dominic Martinez from the Anschutz Medical Campus Office of Inclusion and Outreach. We are excited about the opportunity to provide improved and integrated support to our applicants and students.

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs notified us last week that it has awarded initial accreditation to the Anesthesiologist Assistant program in the Department of Anesthesiology at the School of Medicine. Congratulations.

Lorna Moore, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is receiving the Grover Prize from the American Thoracic Society at a ceremony this evening in Philadelphia. The award recognizes “outstanding contributions to the study of the effect of hypoxia and high altitude on the pulmonary circulation” and is named after Robert F. Grover, MD, PhD, a member of the School of Medicine faculty from 1957 until 1984. Congratulations.

Bryan Haugen, MD, and Marvin Schwarz, MD, professors of medicine, are among the 64 physicians elected this year to the Association of American Physicians, which has about 1,300 active members and 600 emeritus and honorary members. It is quite an honor to join this group. Congratulations to Bryan and Marvin.

Mark Deutchman, MD, professor in the School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine and the School of Dental Medicine, has accepted the position of Interim Director of the Colorado Area Health Education Center program. Mark, who has headed the rural track in the School of Medicine, will begin this administrative position June 1.

Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, director of the thoracic oncology clinical program and associate director for clinical research at the CU Cancer Center, has received the Hank Baskett Sr. Spirit Award. The award was created to raise funds and awareness for those affected by lung cancer.

School of Medicine students who received Justina Ford and Florence Sabin Scholarships were celebrated Thursday, May 16, at the Blair-Caldwell African American Library in Denver. The scholarships recognize students who are committed to the same ideals and values as the scholarship namesakes.  Justina Ford was the first woman and African-American physician in Denver; Florence Sabin was a public health pioneer who helped set up the state health department. Justina Ford Scholars, who demonstrate commitment to the underserved, were Shauna Seaman, Susan Anduaga, Monica Salazar and Edwin Mang’eni. The Sabin Scholars, embodying a commitment to community health, were Darren Eblovi, Chase Yarbrough, Margaret Emmott, Madeline Cole and Magdalena Reinsvold.

Catherine A. Lozupone, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine’s recently formed Division of Bioinformatics and Personalized Medicine, was featured in the cover story entitled “The Secret Lives of Germs” in Sunday’s New York Times magazine.  Lozupone is one of several scientists in the article discussing the role of human gut microbiota and its relationship to our overall health. Rob Knight, PhD, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and computer science at CU Boulder, is also prominent in this fascinating article.

Anschutz Medical Campus students and faculty helped open the first school-based community garden in Aurora on Saturday, May 18, at North Middle School. There are some wonderful photos of the event on the Denver Post’s website.

Spring is finally in the air, so some new patio furniture outside the Commons Cafe on the education side of the campus can now be put to good use. Employees and retirees donated funds for the furniture. A special thank you to Carol Rumack, MD, professor of radiology and pediatrics and associate dean of graduate medical education, and Barry Rumack, MD, faculty ombudsperson, for making the lead gift for this project.

I hope to see many of you at commencement on Friday.  Have a safe Memorial Day weekend; it is probably ok to plant stuff outdoors now….the next WGOH will be June 3.

Have a great two weeks,

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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