Much of my presentation was devoted to the role of the Aims process in providing general Divisional stability. This faculty-led needs assessment was particularly valuable in achieving this goal by bringing our primary challenges and opportunities into focus. This in turn led to implementation of such Aims recommendations as elimination of public distinction of title for Clinician Educators, reduction of mouse costs, and creation of policy working groups in Academic Affairs, the first of which, the Appointments and Promotions Working Group chaired by Dr. Halina Brukner, is already bearing significant fruit.

Stability is also closely tied to governance, and the Aims process proved invaluable to me in crystallizing our governance structure, which I will briefly summarize. The Division’s operations and relationship with the Hospitals are overseen by the Biological Sciences and Health Care Committee, a subcommittee of the University of Chicago Trustees, chaired by Trustee James Frank. The Division’s primary policy-vetting and decision-making body is the Divisional Executive Committee, which is comprised of Department and Committee Chairs as well as Center and Institute Directors. In addition, I have created and charged three Aims-recommended Committees—the Education Committee, the Research Advisory Committee, and the UCPP Executive Committee—to advise me on the most important issues in these core mission areas. These Committees are chaired by Drs. Holly Humphrey, Fred Wondisford, and Fabrizio Michelassi, respectively. Finally, I have created a Dean’s Cabinet consisting of these three Committee Chairs along with administrative representatives from the Dean’s Office. The purpose of the latter group is to prioritize Divisional policy development and Aims implementation, and to ensure that these efforts are fully supported and well integrated throughout the core mission areas.

Importantly, the Aims Committees catalyzed a lively debate around our core cultural values. As I wrote in the Dean’s Report, the amount of attention paid to this topic is to me a clear sign of our vitality. In other words, it would not be a topic of intense discussion if faculty didn’t care and care deeply. I perceive that the Division neither needs nor desires cultural change, but rather seeks restoration of cultural values long-held and deeply cherished and which the faculty believes lie at the heart of this institution’s greatness. I consider these values to be the true bedrock of stability, a firm foundation upon which we can confidently build in the next academic year and beyond.

Collegiate Mastery
One of the University's better-kept secrets is the success of its second-largest undergraduate concentration. Second in size to economics, undergraduate biological sciences total enrollment has grown from 3,532 in 1999 to 3,799 in 2003...

Success can be Infectious
The University of Chicago has been selected as one of eight Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCE), an effort that includes researchers from Northwestern, Argonne National Laboratory...

Discoveries
Researchers have discovered that getting a good night's sleep does in fact improve one's ability to learn and retain information, specifically in regards to language. Daniel Margoliash, Ph.D....

Aims Updates
The New Research Building (NRB)
The Research Aims recommended that BSD upgrade research infrastructure by investing in new space additional to the IRB while simultaneously retiring inefficient space...

DEVELOPMENT
The University of Chicago Medical Center Development celebrated the end of the fiscal year after surpassing the $600 million...

EDUCATION
On Saturday night, November 8th, the Association of American Medical Colleges recognized something this University has long known: Lawrence Wood, M.D., Ph.D., Professor...

FOREFRONT
Common wisdom tells us that cold is our enemy. If generations of Moms can be believed, cold activates the cold virus, the flu virus and any number of other common ills...

ACCOLADES
Recent Awards and Grants Information for Biological Sciences Division Faculty

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Recent Recruitemnts and Appointments of Biological Sciences Division Faculty

Dollars and Sense
The BSD financial highlights for the first two months of fiscal year 2004

More News & Events