Town Hall recording, budget approval and national recognition
This past month, I was pleased to participate in three town hall sessions with more than 450 of the School’s faculty and staff. It was great to connect virtually and to have an opportunity to present an overview of some of the major initiatives underway including our education programs, the strategic plan and facilities renewal. Most importantly, I appreciated the many questions that you raised and your continued strong interest in the future of the School.
I look forward to hosting town halls on a regular basis as just one way to share news and information about the priorities at the School.
A recording is available of one of the town halls for those who weren’t able to attend. I encourage you to take a listen.
The first two months of 2021 have been busy and as we all remain cautiously optimistic about access to COVID-19 vaccines and a decrease in cases, collectively teams across the School aren’t standing still.
A few weeks ago, we heard the good news that the School’s budget was approved. With this confirmation, our teams can advance many of the education and research initiatives they had planned. I want to acknowledge the great work by the faculty and staff teams across the School who prepared their individual budgets and ensured we are well positioned for our preparation to the Western. In particular, I want to recognize the Finance Team for their ongoing support of the School’s finance work.
The School’s leadership team continues to evolve, and we recently announced Dr. Tracey Crumley as the Chair/Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Gregory Dekaban, PhD as the Chair of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Emil Schemitsch and Jefferson Frisbee, PhD, have been appointed to second terms as department leaders in Surgery and Medical Biophysics respectively.
Canada Research Chairs (CRC) are held by some of the country’s most accomplished and promising researchers, who work to achieve research excellence. We’ve had a number of faculty members appointed to a CRC position. In late December, we announced a few more. Congratulations to Kelly Anderson, PhD, who has been selected as the Canada Research Chair in Public Mental Health Research and to Joy MacDermid, PhD, who is jointly appointed to the School and was named as the CRC in Musculoskeletal Health Outcomes and Knowledge Translation. Andrew Pruszynsk, PhD, was also renewed as the CRC in Sensorimotor Neuroscience.
Dr. Alice Tsui and Dr. Yiannis Iordanous, two of our medical educators were recognized nationally and received the Canadian Association for Medical Education’s 2021 Certificate of Merit Award for their valuable contributions to enhancing medical education at the School.
In closing, I want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our clinical faculty and residents who are continuing to support patient care in the community and region amidst the ongoing pandemic. I also want to thank the commitment of our teaching faculty who are constantly innovating to ensure our learners stay engaged and enjoy their programs. And to all the staff working behind the scenes, thank you for your efforts.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University
