Transition into Our New Home

CWRU School of Medicine Dean Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD

It was just a few days ago that the University was closed due to the severe cold, followed by 60 degree weather making it feel like spring. We are told to prepare for another cold snap in a week or so and will once again need to reach into the closet for the long underwear, down coat, and high boots. Wild swings. Lots of change. 

I am reminded that change, even when positive, can be disconcerting – at least for a while. 

We are about to undergo a major change at the medical school as we move into the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion this spring. The new facility will be truly breathtaking, with plenty of opportunities for our students and interprofessional colleagues to get to know one another better and collaborate in new and productive ways. The building features a large atrium, rooms and study spaces with lots of natural light, and will be equipped with enhanced technology to facilitate learning. It is the perfect setting to enable all our health professional students to share, teach, and learn from one another as they approach their careers in an evolving healthcare landscape. Our new home represents a milestone for our school and confirms our pioneering spirit, one that has put us on the leading edge of innovative education for decades. 

With an undertaking this complex, I’m sure you understand that while many of the details involved in the transition to the HEC have been worked out, there are components yet to be settled. Such a project hasn’t been tried at our school before, so we can’t say for sure how our plans will work until they are actually implemented. But to help the move go as smoothly as possible and inform you of the kinds of changes you can expect, we will be hosting a Town Hall on February 14, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm in the Wolstein Auditorium. Please come and ask questions. We’ll also provide details about the transition on a website, a Canvas course for our students, and regular communications from Pat Thomas and from me.  

We will do our best to inform and to listen.  

This is, in the words of Tom Vail, former editor of the Plain Dealer, the most exciting building project in Cleveland in the last 50 years. We are working hard to make the move as seamless and the transition as smooth as possible. We want you to become informed, give feedback, and hang in there should things get bollixed up. Our University has a wonderful opportunity to set the standard in interprofessional education. We intend to capitalize on it. Settling into our new home quickly and comfortably is a key ingredient. 

It will be a change – and an adventure! 

Pam