The first strategic theme is "Distinction Trumps Size." We know that as a biomedical enterprise we will not rival the massive scale of a Harvard, Penn or Johns Hopkins, nor do we desire this. What we care about, rather, is intellectual density within a relatively modest, but high quality, institutional footprint. For example, many regard rank in aggregate NIH funding as a measure of quality; we prefer to correct for size and measure funding per investigator. After making this adjustment, one finds that we rank fifth among all US academic medical centers in this category. We are also in the top 5 in the country in the density of National Academy of Sciences members and 1st in the country in the number of HHMI investigators per 100 faculty members.

The second theme emphasizes the University of Chicago's distinctive academic culture -highly interdisciplinary, intellectually engaging and a place where ideas are swapped and debated in a remarkably passionate way. We must deeply respect this distinctiveness and build upon it, and in so doing relentlessly seek novel interdisciplinary ways to chart our course. When combined with theme one above, we can draw the conclusion that our relatively modest size constantly provokes us to find these seminal ways to collaborate, and size thereby harmonizes with character.

The third and final theme concerns "Growth Without Growing." What the Aims process meant by this is not a reluctance to grow important programs or build new buildings (obviously) but rather that, given our modest size, we must collaborate not only internally but externally through relationships that effectively make us larger and amplify our impact. Our efforts with other University Divisions and Schools, with Argonne National Laboratory and the Illinois Institute of Technology, with Abbott Laboratories and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's new Janelia Farm Research Campus all - when summed - significantly expand our intellectual breadth and access to additional resources.

Do we lose something via our modest size and the above strategies of compensating for such? Curiously it appears not. In fact, the same modesty in size, focus on cross-disciplinary thinking and the like are defining characteristics of our entire University. Yet in economics, social thought, biomedicine and other broadly defined disciplines, Chicago has contributed in a palpably distinctive way to the intellectual life of our nation. It appears that, as has been said of architecture, in defined university cultural settings less can on occasion be more. Do we lose something via our modest size and the above strategies of compensating for such? Curiously it appears not. In fact, the same modesty in size, focus on cross-disciplinary thinking and the like are defining characteristics of our entire University. Yet in economics, social thought, biomedicine and other broadly defined disciplines, Chicago has contributed in a palpably distinctive way to the intellectual life of our nation.

It appears that, as has been said of architecture, in defined university cultural settings less can on occasion be more.

For those of you who were unable to attend the State of the Division, I invite you to visit the BSD web site at http://www.bsd.uchicago.edu/deans-message.html to view the slides and a streaming video of the presentation (under Related Links).

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