Dean Pamela's Messages

My three-year-old grandson came to visit recently and asked to watch cartoons. In one of them, a monster emerged from the shadows threatening the heroes. My grandson ran from his chair and leapt into my lap. I held him and said, “Don’t worry, you’re safe.” He pulled back and looked earnestly into ...

A beautiful spring day welcomed almost 600 guests for the ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the official opening of the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion at the Health Education Campus. Entering the building as the sun streamed through the skylight into the courtyard, one could sense the electric ex...

In 2012 we began a new emphasis on moving top flight science from our research labs to patients. This required the help of experts in the commercial sector, new investments by us and others, and a culture change within the School. It had to become exciting and important to develop one’s technology. ...

March has always been a time of transitions – from winter to spring, from the press of the academic year through spring break to its downhill slope toward commencement, from the promulgation of New Year’s resolutions to settling into what we are actually going to do. For the School, it’s been qui...

Far from presaging gloom, the Ides of March has just capped a wonderful two-week run for the School of Medicine. Last Tuesday we learned that we were elevated a rank in the U.S. News & World Report rankings to #24 (and remained #1 in Ohio). In addition, two departments, Pediatrics and Internal Med...

At the meeting of the CWRU Board of Trustees this weekend there was a celebration of the remarkable success of the University’s capital campaign. A big part of that success can be attributed to the School of Medicine, which raised $667M over the period of the campaign. How will that money be used?...

Earlier this week I had the chance to speak with the Faculty Council about the critical importance of collaboration across the city of Cleveland for bringing our fondest hopes for medicine, the School, the University, and the city to fruition. We talked about the attractiveness of the four affiliate...

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...

Monday is Martin Luther King Day in America. Though much has improved in our country for African Americans since his tragic assassination in 1968 – the year that so much changed – we still live in a world where serious health disparities persist, and we have too few tools to combat them. As Dr. King...

We often cite our favorable mentions in the legendary Flexner report of 1910 as early evidence of our longstanding excellence in medical education. But do you know who Abraham Flexner was? A recent book by Robert Hromas, MD, dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Texas San Antonio, ent...