A message from Gerry Cooper, Associate Dean

This certainly has been a record-breaking winter; not just for Southwestern Ontario, but for the entire continent! Not surprisingly, the Windsor Program has also been challenged by the weather. The continued weather issues raised the need for a policy that covers inclement weather and school closures in both London and Windsor. Such is life when one is planning an educational program at distributed locations!

We were pleased to announce the Schulich-Windsor Opportunities for Research Excellence Program (SWORP). Thanks to the leadership of Schulich Medicine’s Dr. Denise Figlewicz, vice dean, Research & Innovation and the University of Windsor’s Dr. Michael Siu, vice president, Research & Innovation, funding was assembled for up to 10 research opportunities for Windsor Program students in 2014-2015.

This followed a series of collaborative research events with the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Human Kinetics and Faculty of Science, where faculty researchers showcased their work and invited Schulich Medicine students to participate with their labs. In total, eight proposals were submitted by Windsor Program students for review. We will follow the SWORP program with a great deal of interest in the months to come.

Springtime gives us the opportunity to celebrate accomplishments throughout the Windsor Program and to cheer on our Medicine Class of 2014, who will soon graduate and move on to their chosen residency programs. This took place at the Celebrating Excellence event on April 14. It was a great event and we were so pleased to enjoy the company of our students, faculty, staff and partners.

Before you know it, Convocation will occur on May 16 and we will begin winding down the academic year for our Year 1 and Year 2 students. Year 3 clerks remain in training until September, when their elective period begins. On June 18, we will have the official grand opening of the Medical Arts Building where our visiting learners stay while training in Windsor.

At that point, it will be safe for us to collectively take a deep breath and perhaps even a brief moment of relaxation, knowing that we have just completed our ‘steady state’ year, with 38 students in each of the four years of the MD program.

Sincerely,
Dr. Gerry Cooper