Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
Holly J. Humphrey, MD director,
Pritzker Class of ‘83
Professor of Medicine and
Dean for Medical Education
For some time now, I’ve wanted a regular forum where we can share important news and celebrate the accomplishments of our students and faculty. This inaugural edition of The Pritzker Pulse is intended to be a new means for communicating with students, faculty and staff about significant and exciting changes in our school, recent notable accomplishments, and vital information about our programs and each other. Most importantly, this newsletter provides a welcome and long overdue medium to celebrate the accomplishments of our students. In this first issue, we feature several of the honors and accolades that our students have received over the past few months, but I know that this list is by no means comprehensive. I hope that from this time forward, students will begin to forward information to Dana Levinson, our Director of Program Development, so that she can maintain a complete record of the remarkable achievements of the Pritzker student body. We also welcome general feedback and comments regarding the newsletter and suggestions for features that you want to see included on a regular basis. Please feel free to send your ideas to Dana at dlevinso@bsd.uchicago.edu.
What are some of the major initiatives undertaken by the Pritzker School over the last year?
We underwent an 18-month institutional self-study and accreditation survey, A Quarterly Publication of the Pritzker School of Medicine culminating in a site visit in October 2004 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and continued full accreditation of our educational program for the full eight year term (see additional information on page 6 of this newsletter). During the recent competitive renewal of our 37-year old Medical Scientist Training Program, the NIH commended the outstanding quality of the program and the strength of its director, Dr. Jose Quintans.
Other significant and gratifying events include the remodeling of the Ceithaml Lounge in the Medical Center and the refurbishing of the student computer facilities in the BSLC. Two important new admissions initiatives commenced. The first–– the Dean's Promise Scholarships––provides $1 million for merit-based aid to new applicants. The second––the Accelerated Medical Scholars Program––replaces the Early Admissions Programs for University of Chicago undergraduates. Modeled on pre-existing professional options programs in the Harris School of Public Policy and the Graduate School of Business, the Accelerated Medical Scholars Program provides exceptional students with the flexibility to move forward in their medical education during their fourth year in College and obtain credit for both their undergraduate and their medical degrees. The program will benefit the medical school by bringing those University of Chicago undergraduates, who have potential to make important future contributions in science and medicine, into our community of scholars. It will benefit the students by shortening their application cycle, reducing their years in school and reducing their overall educational debt.
This spring, the Pritzker School of Medicine inaugurated several new programs to support and enhance the scholarly environment of our school. The Bowman Society, named to honor the first tenured African-American Professor in the Biological Sciences Division, will regularly feature presentations related to the health care of minority communities. The Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series will commence this week with an all-school event at the Museum of Science and Industry to view Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies and to hear a panel discussion featuring Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the creator of the exhibit and the inventor of the plastination technique. Other members of the panel include Scott Barrows, CMI, FAMI, Graduate Program Director and Clinical Assistant Professor of Biomedical Visualization at the University of Illinois at Chicago, The Reverend Alison Boden, Dean of Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Bruce Gewertz, Dallas B. Phemister Professor and Chairman of Surgery, and Barbara Stafford, William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Art History. The panel will be moderated by Neil Shubin, Professor and Chairman of Organismal Biology and Anatomy.
These recent developments in the medical school mirror exciting changes in the Biological Sciences Division at large. Since arriving at the institution in 2002, our Dean, James L. Madara has appointed new Chairs in the Departments of Family Medicine, Human Genetics, Medicine, Neurobiology, Pharmacology & Physiology, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Radiology. A new Department of Microbiology has also been formed. The Comer Children’s
Hospital has opened and the Interdivisional Research Building will follow soon, with plans for a new research building for the clinical departments which will be situated next to the Biological Sciences Learning Center and is slated for completion in 2007. The remarkable transfusion of new leadership, the creation of new resources to support education, research and clinical care, and the implementation of innovative new programs clearly demonstrate that the we are engaged in an exciting process of transformation and growth that will define our institution for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Holly J. Humphrey
Professor of Medicine and Dean for Medical Education
