Dear colleagues,
During this season of transition, with new residents and fellows joining our departments and our education programs preparing for new and returning students and the start of the 2016-2017 academic year, I’d like to thank each of you for helping advance the UF College of Medicine toward national preeminence. We are at a pivotal point in our history — celebrating 60 years of accomplishments in medical education, research and patient care while creating a bold vision for our future. Our aim is to move medicine forward and to rise in stature among the nation’s elite medical schools. The key ingredient in this journey is our faculty and your programs of distinction.
The past academic year was a notable one that began with the opening of the George T. Harrell, M.D., Medical Education Building on our medical students’ first day of class, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to the college’s education mission. The Harrell Medical Education Building has not only energized the students and the faculty but also medical school applicants. We have seen a 40 percent increase in the number of completed applications for the UF College of Medicine, and the applicant pool represents some of the best students in the country. The new facility is certainly a draw, but it is our faculty who inspire our students to strive for excellence. I am grateful for the work you do to train our students to become caring and knowledgeable physicians and physician assistants.
As the most research-intensive college in one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive institutions of higher learning, I’m proud to say that our faculty continue to strengthen the size, scope and value of our research portfolio. This was once again reflected by an increase in NIH funding to faculty in the UF College of Medicine at a time when this funding is declining for other institutions. More importantly, the discoveries being made are truly inspiring as our scientists gain a better understanding of how diseases challenge human health, and develop novel strategies for cure and prevention. Our priority in the coming year will be, as it has always been, to retain the outstanding faculty we have here at UF, and to recruit the very best to complement our existing programs. We also anticipate moving forward with significant enhancements to our graduate student program.
With our patients, learners and our community at the center of everything we do, we are accomplishing great things. Thank you for rededicating yourselves every day to our important missions of patient care, research and education. In the coming academic year, we will again move medicine forward. Happy Academic New Year!
Michael L. Good, M.D.
Dean, UF College of Medicine