A Spectacular Time
High-Flying New Building, Students, Faculty, and Plans Featured in Dean's Remarks
With the final beam in place, the Henry A. Jordan M'62 Medical Education Center reached an important milestone -- one of many recent achievements Dean Jameson noted in his address to the Medical Alumni Advisory Council on September 18.
Jordan Center Rises
One of the first in America to be physically joined to active clinical and research facilities, the Jordan Center is a landmark structure. Students, faculty, and administrators from across Penn beat a path to the Perelman Center to autograph the final beam. President Gutmann was among the signers. So were trustees of the Measey Foundation, which generously funded the Measey Learning Commons, central to the state-of-the-art technology to be offered at the Center. Three generations of the Jordan family also donned commemorative hard hats to celebrate the occasion.
The dean thanked the council members and the classmates they represent for supporting this project since its infancy. He also looked forward to working with alumni leadership over the next 18 months to find the right donors for the naming opportunities still available and to complete the fundraising goal for the Center.
Meet M'17
In August, the Perelman School welcomed 168 new students and "began to shape them for a 50-year career," according to Dean Jameson. Thanks in part to strong scholarship support, this class arrives with soaring academic credentials and includes students from around the nation. The members of the Class of 2017 come from 33 states (with the largest representation from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, New York, and Florida) and attended 56 undergraduate institutions, with over 40 percent coming from Ivy League schools. The School is particularly pleased that 60 percent are non-traditional students, who bring experience in a variety of fields and deeply held commitment to the pursuit of medicine.
Noteworthy New Department Chairs
This fall also saw the arrival of remarkable new faculty, including three new chairs.
John Dani, PhD, a research leader in behavior, addiction, learning, and memory is the new chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Director, Mahoney Institute of Neurosciences.
J. Kevin Foskett, PhD, who has been honored by the NIH with the highly prized MERIT Award, which gives creative scientists long-term support, is the new chair of the Department of Physiology.
Joseph W. St. Geme, III, MD, a member of the Institute of Medicine, has been named physician-in-chief at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School. Internationally known for research, particularly on Haemophilus influenzae, a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide, Dr. St. Geme is also locally known, having completed his pediatric residency and chief residency at CHOP.
Looking Ahead
Currently being implemented by our faculty, the Penn Medicine strategic plan Shaping the Future of Medicine is a framework for developing our academic medical center with the purpose of advancing medicine through innovation, integration, and impact. The Jordan Center, the faculty and students we recruit, and new patient care facilities such as Penn Medicine Washington Square all reflect our ambitions to push medicine forward. We are proud to have you as an advocate and a partner in our future development.
Beaming About the New Center
MAAC Takes a Hard Hat Tour of the Henry A. Jordan M'62 Medical Education Center
Envisioning the future is not an uncommon practice in meetings of the Perelman School of Medicine Medical Alumni Advisory Council (MAAC). At this September's gathering, MAAC members gained a more tangible experience of what lies ahead during a private tour of the Henry A. Jordan M'62 Medical Education Center just two weeks after the placement of the final beam.
And beaming were all those in attendance, whose words of praise for Penn and the next step in the evolution of the Perelman School of Medicine rang in the air.
"This new Jordan Medical Education Center is magnificent and shows Penn's commitment to medical education, research, and patient care," said Joel Porter, M'66.
Howard Orel, C'82, W'82, M'86 offered, "It will be an outstanding facility proportionate with Penn's extraordinary commitment to medical education."
"Amazing," said Martin Kanovsky, M'78, INT'79, RES'81, FEL'83. "Unbelievable. Mind-boggling. It's breathtaking to see what Penn is doing to expand the frontiers of medicine and to consolidate patient care, research, and medical education under one roof."
David Eskin, M'67, RES'71 concluded, "One of the finest medical schools in the world will have the physical space commensurate with its history and reputation as it prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary."
Halloween Invitation:
Mitchell J. Blutt, M.D., Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship and Medicine to Speak
Robert Margolis, M.D., the Managing Partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners Medical Group, will share his views on a topic on everyone's mind: improving health care quality while reducing costs for individuals.
Dr. Margolis was a founder of HealthCare Partners Medical Group, one of the largest medical groups in California. The group's vision is to, "Be the role model for integrated and coordinated care, leading the transformation of the national health care delivery system to assure quality, access, and affordable care for all." A board-certified oncologist and internal medicine physician, Dr. Margolis has been a leading expert in the managed care industry for over 30 years. He is often sought for his experience with integrated delivery systems and physician practice management.
Mitchell J. Blutt, M.D., C'78, M'82, WG'87, established this visionary professorship in 2006 to inform the Penn Medicine community of the latest developments in the dynamic relationship between the worlds of medicine and business. Dr. Blutt was one of the first physicians to play a prominent role on Wall Street, and he is founder and CEO of Consonance Capital, a health care investment firm based in New York City. Former Blutt Visiting Professorship speakers include a top White House health reform administrator and a leader in medical entrepreneurship who is also a Tony Award-winning producer.
Please join us for this thought-provoking lecture on Thursday, October 31, 2013 at 2 pm at the Smilow Center for Translational Research, Arthur H. Rubenstein Auditorium.
Join Us!
AAMC Annual Meeting Comes to Philly November 1-6
More than 4,000 medical school faculty, administrators, and students will convene in Philadelphia for the 2013 AAMC conference, the premier education and networking event in academic medicine. The "Change Imperative," this year's theme, will address issues such as research funding threats, political gridlock, and increased competition, among others.
Please join Dean Jameson and your fellow Perelman School graduates for a cocktail reception on November 4th at 5:30 pm at the Smilow Center for Translational Research. You can register for that event by clicking here.