F ive years ago, I came to the University of Virginia with aggressive goals.
Among them: rebuilding the research portfolio, supporting continued innovation
in undergraduate medical education and strengthening graduate education, and
increasing diversity and inclusion.
I am proud to say that, five years later, we have made tremendous strides on
achieving these goals. In a virtual State of the School Address to alumni last month,
I shared highlights of our successes, including establishing a Northern Virginia
campus, developing a leadership curriculum with the McIntire School of Commerce,
moving graduate degrees (PhD and MPH) to the School of Medicine, and increasing
NIH research funding from $101 million in 2015 to $146 million in 2019.
These changes have had many positive results. We have seen an increase in
applications to the School of Medicine, an increase in the number of faculty in tenure
ineligible track reaching the rank of full professor, and an increase in women at the
rank of professor. The School has also been recognized for its diversity efforts — for
example, the UVA School of Medicine has been awarded the Insight Into Diversity
Award for eight years in a row.
These efforts also put us in a solid position to
meet the challenges we face in 2020 and the
uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While there is more to do, I am grateful to have
the support of our students, housestaff, faculty
and alumni in our daily work so that the School
of Medicine can continue to serve as a national
model for excellence through innovation and
collaboration. That spirit of collaboration has
served us well during the pandemic, which
you'll read about in our feature story on page 10.
As you may know, I will be stepping down as dean in 2021 and the search for a new
dean is underway. You can read about that in the Q&A with EVP K. Craig Kent, MD, on
page 8. In the meantime, I am honored to continue to lead the School of Medicine
and look forward to the opportunity to engage with alumni like you who are essential
to our success. As you read this issue, I hope that you will be as impressed by what
we are doing here as I am and that you will consider ways to contribute to our efforts.
Sincerely,
David S. Wilkes, MD
Dean, UVA School of Medicine
James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science
F R O M T H E D E A N
As you read this issue, I
hope that you will be as
impressed by what we are
doing here as I am and that
you will consider ways to
contribute to our efforts.
