Dear colleague: 

After a whirlwind five days in Brussels, Belgium, and in Rotterdam and Utrecht, the Netherlands, to plan my upcoming sabbatical there, I flew back to Denver from Amsterdam Thursday night so I could be here for Match Day. Every one of the 25 Match Day events I have had the privilege of going to has been a wonderful time, but this one was among the very best. For one thing, the invited speaker, Nichole Zehnder, MD, assistant dean for admissions, gave a terrific talk, and the class speaker, Christopher Kennel, was inspirational. Further, the places our soon-to-graduate Class of 2015 will be going as residents are outstanding. There are always some students for whom the match is either a little or a lot disappointing, but as I tell every class, you can learn new skills and continue your education in medicine anywhere, and that no position (or place) is forever. I took the opportunity, because I will not be at their graduation exercises, to give this class the advice for their internship year I would have told them if I were there: Sit down and make eye contact when seeing a patient in the hospital or clinic, don’t hesitate to ask for help before you really need it, and maintain balance in your personal and professional lives.  

It sounds like I missed a relatively quiet School of Medicine Executive Committee meeting last Tuesday. Jeff Parker, executive vice chancellor for administration and finance, introduced the School’s senior leadership to the Huron consulting process, which is intended to help us evaluate how we as a campus could consider allocating space and to be sure that it is being effectively utilized. A committee of School of Medicine representatives, Anschutz Medical Campus leadership, the other schools on campus and Huron will continue the process to evaluate ideas on how to move forward. Such ongoing evaluations are a necessary to ensure we are doing everything we can to maintain an efficient and productive campus. We appreciate all of you who participated in the initial information-gathering phase of this process. I am told the UPI Board meeting was also low-key. Perhaps I should stay away more often!  

Jeff Parker himself made some campus news last week, announcing last Monday that he is planning to retire from his post at the end of the calendar year. Jeff has been a thoughtful and dedicated leader who has navigated our consolidated university through some very challenging budget years. Congratulations to Jeff on his impending retirement.

We welcome Cathy J. Bradley, PhD, who has been named associate director for cancer prevention and control for the CU Cancer Center and the Colorado School of Public Health, to the Anschutz Medical Campus. Cathy will also hold an appointment in the Division of Medical Oncology in the School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine. Cathy joins us from Virginia Commonwealth University where she is associate director at VCU’s Massey Cancer Center. 

The Academy of Medical Educators is accepting nominations for its annual Education Awards. All faculty, including volunteer faculty, in the School of Medicine, including the Physical Therapy and Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant programs, are eligible for these awards. The categories include Excellence in Direct Teaching, Excellence in Curriculum Development or Educational Innovation, Excellence in Educational Administration or Leadership, Excellence in Research or Scholarship in Education, and Excellence in Mentoring and Advising. You can find more information and the nomination form on the Academy’s Education Awards webpage. Nominations should be submitted before 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, to SOM.Academy@ucdenver.edu.

Judith Palfrey, MD, director of the Global Health Program and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, will be delivering the annual Chancellor’s John J. Conger Lecture on Friday, March 27, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Mt. Oxford Auditorium at Children’s Hospital Colorado. This Lectureship is sponsored by the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and the School of Medicine. Judith’s presentation is “The Four Types of Child Health Advocacy: Clinical, Group, Legislative and Professional.”

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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