Dean's Message: Fulfilling Our Potential

 

The latest Dean’s Report focuses on progress towards the six goals of our Strategic Academic Plan 2011–2016. Having arrived at the midpoint of that plan, we are well poised to evaluate our success by measuring performance against these goals. 

 

I am proud of the accomplishments presented in that Report, including — but not limited to — the outstanding accreditation results achieved by all our health professions education programs; the continued increase in external research funding; global ranking recognition of our academic excellence and impact; the dedication of our faculty members to improving health systems in middle- and lower-income nations; reaching our targets for fundraising; and, strengthening infrastructure to improve learning and research environments. 

 

Our new Faculty website will be the product of a six-month long planning, testing and design process that has involved members from across the Faculty, including our students.  Once again, our strategic plan — which describes our Faculty as staff-, student- and faculty-centred — is the foundation of the work being done.  The new site is easier to navigate, is optimized for all devices, features a new search function, integrates our social media channels — including an expanded video section and new Instagram channel — while highlighting education and research news with a modern look and feel.  The new design will be made available to departments that wish to adopt it, in consultation with OSCER and Discovery Commons.

 

On April 2, Faculty leadership will gather for the mid-point strategic retreat. The goal of the retreat is to assess the success of our strategic plan so far, and to provide additional guidance and course-corrections where necessary as we move into the second half of the process.  The day brings together expert panelists from across North America and Europe who will speak to a variety of experiences in academic health partnerships both in leadership and research, as well as break-out sessions, remarks by the University President and Provost, and the unveiling of several new communications and outreach activities.  A complete report of the day’s proceedings will be available after the event for broader consumption and study. 

 

And finally, a new promotional video detailing a day in the life of our Faculty of Medicine will be launched to coincide with these milestones.  The video follows a student, a researcher and a one of our leaders in interdisciplinary knowledge generation as they go through their day. It’s an exciting and fresh look at the activities of our Faculty — and how we are fulfilling our potential.  

 

In all of this, I’m mindful of one important an inescapable fact: none of what we do — from groundbreaking research to world-leading education — would be possible without the combined efforts of each member of our Faculty.  After all, anyone can create a strategic plan, but it takes everyone, working together, to realize its goals. Without the incredible work being done by our staff, students and faculty with one another and with our partners, our vision and mission would merely be words on a page. 

 

Instead, each day, we continue to fulfil our potential. Ultimately, we will do what others say can’t be done.  That makes me very proud — and I hope and trust it makes each of you equally proud, as well.