Dear Colleague, 

I was supposed to be writing this email from Philadelphia where the Association of American Medical Colleges is having its annual meeting, but I never made the trip, so I am sitting here at home, having just watched the Kansas City Chiefs win again.  Being home gave me some time to get the snow tires on my car because I may need them tomorrow if the chronic weather hype comes true this time. 

More importantly, being home this weekend allowed me to attend the memorial service for Chancellor Emeritus James Shore, MD, which was held downtown Saturday afternoon and brought together several hundred people, all of whom had some connection to Jim. It was a really nice hour-and-a-quarter session featuring two film clips and five speakers.  Jim’s son Jay hosted the event.  I was glad I could be there. 

Earlier in the week, the Medical Alumni Association hosted a reception at the Clyfford Still Museum.  Nearly 150 alumni and their guests heard Curt Freed, MD, professor of medicine, tell the story of how the museum came to Denver and his role in getting it here.  It was a very enjoyable and interesting evening.   

One of the events I missed the previous week because I was out of town at the Children’s Hospital Colorado board retreat was the 25th anniversary celebration for the University of Colorado Hospital Transplant team.  They have posted on the hospital’s website a video tribute to Igal Kam, MD, chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery. Igal is variously described as a swan who already knew how to fly, a teddy bear and the Marlon Brando of the family. The video shows a group of people dedicated to their patients and each other. Igal has been crucial to building the transplant program, but he says the real reward is assembling a team that can keep making the program better. The video is well worth watching. 

We are seeking applications for the position of Senior Associate Dean for Education. The Senior Associate Dean for Education serves as strategic and policy advisor to the faculty and Dean and is responsible for leading the School of Medicine’s education enterprise. This is a 0.5 FTE position. Applicants should have substantial administrative experience including responsibility for budgets and personnel. A senior faculty appointment in the School of Medicine is required. Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 15. Details are available online. 

Lilly Marks, vice president of health affairs for the University of Colorado, gave her State of the Campus address last Wednesday, outlining challenges facing our institution and academic medical centers across the country in an era of constrained funding from federal grant-making agencies. She said the university needs to look at other opportunities to protect our standing as a leading research institution. She also urged us to consider ways to provide leadership on improving the health status of citizens in the community that surrounds us and around the state. Her thoughtful speech is summarized here with a link to the slides from her presentation. 

The deadline for nominations for the Steven Fadul Award is Friday, Nov. 15. The award honors contributions of professional research assistants or staff in comparable positions in the School of Medicine. Nominees should show initiative in expanding the scope of their work and by mentoring trainees. Nomination letters should be sent to Fadul.Award@ucdenver.edu. 

Giridhar Mallya, MD, MHSP, director of policy and planning for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, is scheduled to deliver the John Sbarbaro Memorial Lecture in Public Health at 5p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver. His lecture, “Get Healthy Philly: Making the Healthy Choice, the Easy Choice for Philadelphians,” addresses ways that city reduced childhood obesity by aligning local government, business and community-based organizations to improve the health of its residents. The lectureship is named in honor of John Sbarbaro, MD, who was professor of medicine and medical director of University Physicians, Inc. 

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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