Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season
December 19, 2024
Dear Colleagues:
As we enter the holiday season, and as I mark one year as interim dean, I offer my thanks to our wonderful community and my best wishes for 2025.
I have never been more proud to be part of Penn Medicine. Over the past year, I have heard from many of you. Thank you for the time you have taken to meet with me, to introduce yourself and your work, to pose questions or concerns, and to convey your ideas for innovation. I have learned about the challenges being faced, the cures and treatments that change lives every day, the excitement and rapid pace of discovery, and the anxiety of uncertain times.
As just one example, I recently visited with our colleagues in the Emergency Department and Trauma Surgical Critical Care Unit at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center who experienced unthinkable trauma earlier this fall. To a person, they conveyed their enormous resilience and pride in the care being delivered every day and their support for one another. Their message was a reminder that ours are noble professions focused on teaching, great discoveries, and comfort for those in need.
I am immensely proud of our unparalleled contributions to our core missions of research, clinical care, education, and community service. This year, we served more patients, delivered more life-changing therapies, published more high impact discoveries and provided more support in our communities than ever before.
I also acknowledge that we live in changing times with an uncertain future that places additional stress on our already extended community. I have been at Penn long enough to remember other times of unease and uncertainty that we navigated with resilience and imagination. We are better positioned than ever before to respond to headwinds that may come our way. We are also better positioned than ever before to improve the health and well-being of our communities and our world. We will do this together.
Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for your commitment, your hard work, and your pride in our shared missions. Thank you for checking on your colleagues, trainees, and patients. Thank you for seeking ways to support one another. Thank you for recognizing when you need to recharge and take a step back to care for yourself. And thank you for asking how we can forge an even better path ahead.
In the spirit of serving a changing world, opportunities to give back to our local communities are all around during this holiday season. I’m inspired by the creative volunteerism of our faculty, staff, and students year-round, and hope you’ll consider donating your time and talents to efforts that make the season brighter for those in need.
May this holiday season bring comfort and peace to you and yours.
With pride and gratitude,
Jon