Dear Colleague, 

I am again sitting here watching another Sunday Night Football game. Last week I said the Broncos defense needed to step up. They did (in the first half, anyway). The third quarter was unnerving, the fourth somewhat better, but overtime was painful. At least the Kansas City Chiefs lost, and I suspect the Broncos will have another opportunity to meet the Patriots. 

This past week was even busier than usual, which was inevitable because I had been away the previous two weeks. With 10-12 meetings a day, and dinners or receptions four of the five nights, it was the perfect time to host a visiting fellow from the Association of American Medical College Council of Deans. Doug Ziedonis, MD, MPH, professor and chair of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, is one of three fellows who spend a week shadowing a dean in his or her natural habitat. Half of the individuals who have done this fellowship have gone on to dean positions and one decided after spending a week with me not to do it, preferring to be a department chair. 

Last Monday night was the 40th annual “Men’s Event,” a fundraising dinner that was started years ago to support the AMC Cancer Center on the west side of town. When that organization – it was once considered large, but with 50 investigators, it is small by today’s standards – could not support the infrastructure needed for its research mission, it joined our Cancer Center, but retained its nonprofit status so it could continue to raise money for cancer research. It has been a very successful merger, and many of the individuals who have been at all 40 of these dinners were there Monday night. 

Tuesday night was the one-year anniversary of the passing of Ben Eiseman, MD, professor emeritus of surgery.  The Department of Surgery – full-time and clinical faculty – came together for a really special evening of remembrances.  Ben’s family and colleagues put together a montage of his long, illustrious life and career that left few dry eyes in the room. 

Wednesday night there was another 40th anniversary celebration – this one for the University of Colorado Denver, which from 1912 to 1973 was an extension branch of the University of Colorado-Boulder (as we all were – the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center was not given its own chancellor until 1976). There was a panel discussion with University Chancellor Don Elliman, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and urban affairs scholar Robert E. Lang, PhD, who talked about the economic development potential of “Eds and Meds” – universities and medical centers.  

The last dinner of the week was Thursday when John Harney, president and CEO of University of Colorado Hospital, and I hosted the clinical chairs for an informal dinner to discuss some of the issues facing the clinical enterprise in the hospital. I had a goal of losing 10 pounds this year. It is not going well. 

The National Western Stock Show has again invited the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to provide a health-screening exhibit and that means we’re asking clinical faculty, students and staff to volunteer during this year’s stock show Jan. 11-26, 2014. Volunteers are needed for each day. There are two shifts daily – from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. One part of the exhibit is focused on health screenings with blood-pressure checks, lipid testing and health education materials targeting farmers and ranchers, a second part of the exhibit is a health assessment for children ages 2-18 and the third part is an oral health program targeting oral cancer in adults and “Cavity Free at Three” for children. This is a great opportunity to give back and to showcase our great service to the community. Information about signing up can be found on the Colorado Area Health Education Center website. 

The UPI Annual Member Meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, beginning with a reception at 5 p.m. in the Trivisible Room on the second floor of Research Building 2. Mark your calendars now and plan to attend. The business meeting will begin at 6 p.m. 

The Fall 2013 issue of CU Medicine Today has arrived. Features include a look at Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome research by neurologist Huntington Potter, PhD; a profile of transplant surgeon Igal Kam, MD; and healthy lunch options at Children’s Hospital Colorado developed with the help of Janine Higgins, PhD, and her team of nutrition experts. 

The Academy of Medical Educators is seeking applications for membership from all departments and programs within the School of Medicine. Membership is based on the applicants’ accomplishments in one or more aspects of medical education, including direct teaching, advising and mentorship, instructional development and curricular design, educational administration and leadership and educational scholarship and research.  Members are selected through a competitive, criterion-based and peer-reviewed process. Those interested in applying should submit a brief email of intent (just a one-liner stating that you plan to apply) to Kathy Werfelmann by 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15. Final applications are due by 5 p.m. Feb. 1, 2014.

Have a good week and a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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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