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It is an honor to be serving as your dean. My experiences with Maryland graduates have been very positive. In 1991, I was recruited by Allen Myers, ’60, of Temple University School of Medicine, to chair the department of obstetrics and gynecology. We still chuckle about his very persuasive recruitment efforts, when he flew to see me at Yale and would not leave without a commitment of some sort. In the end it worked. I later joined him. Now in retrospect, I consider this behavior a part of the Maryland culture of tenacity for success. He was dean at the time as well as an international authority in the management of scleroderma and other connective-tissue diseases. Dr. Myers is a man of impeccable integrity and a tremendous visionary who later served as president of the Philadelphia College of Physicians. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and today we remain close friends.
Dr. Myers has said that succeeding Dr. Donald E. Wilson as dean at Maryland is tantamount to taking over centerfield for Joe DiMaggio. He may be right. Although I have served as vice chancellor and dean at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for the past five years, I recognize that Dr. Wilson’s tenure will be a hard act to follow. He is indeed a giant in the world of academic medicine.
It was not long after my tenure began at Arkansas, that I learned about Eva Dodge, ’25. She became the first professor emerita at Arkansas in 1964 after a sterling career spanning five decades as physician, educator, consultant, and international public health administrator. During her lifetime, Dr. Dodge was a magnificent role model for young physicians in both Arkansas and Maryland.
These are splendid Maryland success stories, and I’m learning more about the medical school’s history with each passing day. My specialty and subspecialty are OB/GYN and maternal/fetal medicine, respectively. Therefore, I was fascinated to hear that another of my predecessors—Dr. William Gibson, Maryland’s fourth dean in 1818—performed the world’s first successful repeat Caesarian section. So, you see, I’m following more than one tough act!
It is my opinion that for far too long this medical school has been one of the nation’s best-kept secrets. Our rich heritage, combined with this recently elevated stature, have positioned Maryland for increased and well deserved recognition in the United States and abroad. One of my immediate tasks will be to broaden our public relations efforts to bring a level of recognition to our school that is commensurate with our level of achievement. Our upcoming bicentennial celebration presents us with a golden opportunity to move forward in this area, since we will be expanding our outreach to new constituencies and renewing and strengthening ties with existing ones.
As dean, it is my charge to prepare the medical school for its third century of medical education, research, and patient care. Over the next several months I’ll be articulating my vision for Maryland, and I plan to use this column to help convey to you not only where we’re heading but how we’re planning to get there. I’ll also be using this column to evaluate our performance. It is my wish, however, that this magazine will serve as a secondary mode of communication with alumni, colleagues, and friends, hoping that the primary mode will be a personal relationship. Here again the bicentennial celebration will afford us abundant opportunities to connect. Please watch your mail for the complete schedule of activities which run throughout 2007.
I’m very optimistic about the future of our medical school and approach this exciting opportunity with heightened levels of energy and enthusiasm. I invite you to become an active partner in this venture, and I look forward to formally meeting many of you soon.