Recap of EVC-Designate Barbara Atkinson's Speech

Nov. 1, 2004, All-Campus Briefing

This is indeed an exciting time of change and growth as our medical center campus prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and The University of Kansas Hospital during the next two years.

All of us – as members of this academic community – share an impressive legacy and tradition of leadership and a responsibility to continue to be standard bearers in the delivery of quality education for health care professionals, in providing exceptional patient care, and in shedding light on human disease processes through biomedical research.

We owe our best efforts in this endeavor to the citizens of Kansas who fund our work, to the patients who will benefit from it and to the doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who will apply this new knowledge to serve others.

As your executive vice chancellor-designate, I welcome both the challenges and the opportunities of leading KU Medical Center into the next century.

And I accept these new responsibilities knowing that I follow in the footsteps of Don Hagen, whom I respect and admire. He has provided exemplary leadership of the Medical Center for the past 10 years.

• Since 2001, KUMC has invested $50 million in space renovations and new buildings, including the School of Nursing, the Landon Center and the Hoglund Brain Imaging Center. The Biomedical Research Center now under construction is a $57.7 million project that will nearly double the research space on this campus.
• Under Dr. Hagen’s leadership, enrollment is at a five-year high – up 6 percent from 2003, and we are attracting high-quality students. The MD/PhD program has expanded. We now have 14 students and there are plans to build the program to where it will be eligible for a federal grant. The School of Allied Health established a new Molecular Biotechnology Concentration to support workforce requirements of the Life Sciences Initiative. And the Schools of Nursing and Allied Health have developed several post-professional certificate programs that will enhance the capabilities of the healthcare workforce.
• Since 1995, total extramural research funding on the KUMC campus has increased by 83 percent to $76 million. And funding from the National Institutes of Health at KUMC has grown 125 percent, far surpassing other Kansas state research institutions and our Kansas City Area Life Sciences research partners, with more than $43 million awarded.
• Under Dr. Hagen’s leadership, the Hospital Authority was formed in 1998, which allowed the hospital to function with greater flexibility to serve the medical needs of the community and state.
• KUPI and KU Health Partners were formed to support clinical practice. Both continue to grow and become more successful.
• Dr. Hagen has done much to create partnerships and support for the Medical Center throughout the community, especially within Wyandotte County.
• He has created bridges with our other KU campuses.
• He has established partnerships that support the efforts of our Kansas City Area Life Sciences Initiative.
• He has developed strong relationships with medical and hospital groups throughout the state.
• And he has provided educational support for the statewide rural health networks.

I extend my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Hagen for all that he has done to shape the Medical Center as one committed to serve the community and the state. I believe his legacy will endure, as we strengthen the bridges he has built and continue to nurture the relationships he has fostered.

I want to share with you my vision for the University of Kansas Medical Center:

The University of Kansas Medical Center will work with its partners to enhance its reputation as the premier academic medical center in the Midwest known for its exceptional education, innovative scientific discovery, outstanding clinical programs and dedication to community service. It will be known as the place where everyone wants to come to learn, to teach, to conduct research and to receive health care.

When I became dean of the School of Medicine two years ago, I shared with you my core values that help shape my decisions and direct my goals. These are Midwestern values that I learned from my Minnesota and North Dakota grandparents and during my growing-up years in Columbus, Ohio.

Let me review them with you again:

• Excellence in all that we do
• Partnership and collaboration
• Teamwork and participatory decision-making
• Ethics, honesty and respect
• Practicality and financial responsibility
• Openness and transparency in decisions and finances
• Accountability and measurable milestones
• Diversity among students, faculty and in administrative leadership
• Continuous improvement

Like Dr. Hagen, I recognize the importance of meeting the wide range of health care needs in Kansas – from the critical need for primary care in rural and other underserved areas of the state to the urgent need for highly specialized knowledge to provide the latest preventive treatments and therapies. My overall goals are these:

• To prepare health care professionals to primarily serve the needs of Kansas as well as the region and the nation.
• To provide comprehensive and exceptional educational experiences to a diverse student population through a full range of undergraduate, graduate, professional, postdoctoral and continuing education programs.
• To maintain and expand our internationally recognized research programs to advance the health sciences.
• To provide high quality, patient-centered health care and health related services.

Dr. Hagen and I recognize that an important aspect of successful transition planning is keeping students, faculty and staff informed as we move through the process. I’m sure I don’t have all the answers to all of your questions. But I want to assure you that there is a process in place to take us through the next few months, and I ask for your patience as we begin the work ahead.

What I can share with you is where we are today and how we arrived at this point.

Two teams of outside consultants have assisted us in our decision-making. They recommended the consolidation of the offices of EVC and dean of the School of Medicine to flatten the organizational structure, streamline decision-making and to increase efficiencies. They also provided suggestions on the overall organizational and reporting structure.

As many of you know my leadership style is one of collaboration, building partnerships and delegating responsibilities. Over the last few weeks, we have formed a transition team to assist in the implementation process. They have helped me to prioritize issues, re-align some responsibilities and to create a strong leadership team.

Let me share with you what that team and organizational structure will look like (click on organizational charts below to view full size):

Most of these changes will take place January 1.

Let me share with you some of our major goals:

• We will work to enhance our partnership with The University of Kansas Hopsital.
• We will work to build strong relationships with our life sciences partners.
• We will work to double our NIH funding in the next five years, including strong growth in both our basic and clinical research programs.
• We will continue our progress toward Comprehensive Cancer Center designation for our cancer program.
• We will continue to support the growth of our clinical research programs and our successful programs in cancer, neuroscience, reproductive biology and kidney disease. I look forward to the launch of our new Clinical Research Center later this month, which will coordinate and facilitate clinical research, help us to recruit and foster both established and junior faculty, provide a training site for young investigators and help us generate new NIH funding.
• We will look for opportunities for interactions between all four of our schools to further our educational, clinical practice and research efforts. We will work together to meet Kansas’ and the nation’s ever-increasing health care needs by providing well-trained doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
• We will work with the Wichita campus and hospitals to achieve their vision of becoming the premier community-based medical campus in the country, and we will work with all of our education sites to serve the health care needs of the state and the region.
• We will continue to advocate for diversity and advancement of women and all faculty through such programs as the NIH-funded Endowed Scholarship Program, the HRSA Center of Excellence and the Health Careers Pathways Program, which help us recruit, train and retain underrepresented minority students and faculty and ensure diversity and quality in our medical education, healthcare delivery and research.
• I pledge to represent the best interests of the Medical Center, to be an active voice in the community and across the state, to promote the work of this university and to tell our story to faculty, alumni, state and community leaders, and potential donors.
• I pledge to act in the best interests of all segments of the University and the Medical Center.
• To listen and learn from all of you.
• And to keep you informed as our process of transition unfolds and as we build our future.

Although we have made great progress, there are still many concerns which need to be addressed:

• I will continue to work to improve the University’s relationship with the Hospital and to ensure the University’s representation at the table remains appropriate and fair.
• I will work to create a much-needed Ambulatory Care Facility and to resolve funding issues.
• I will seek LCME accreditation for the School of Medicine in 2005.
• I will continue to secure adequate funding to support the academic medical center through public and private sources and to improve efficiencies.
• I will continue to expand our nursing programs to provide much-needed access to high quality cutting-edge education for nurses in order to meet the increasing demand for more nurses, nursing faculty and nurse leaders for the region and the state.
• And I will strengthen the pipeline of basic science research between the Lawrence and Medical Center campuses.

There is much to be done, and I ask for your support and your patience in the months ahead as we begin to establish this new leadership team. One of the reasons I accepted this additional responsibility is the confidence I have in all of you.

I will rely on you more as we work together to take the Medical Center and its schools of Medicine, Nursing, Allied Health and Graduate Studies to the next level of excellence.

In addition to this campus briefing, and as part of an ongoing commitment to provide timely information, a special website is being designed as a resource on transition-related issues. The new leadership chart, a transcript of this presentation and other related information can be found at http://www.kumc.edu/evc. It will be available this week. There is a link on the web site that allows you to share your concerns or questions with me. I welcome your feedback.

Around the first of the year, I'll be moving downstairs to the second floor of Murphy and some of my administrative staff and leadership team will be joining me. However, we are still in the process of evaluating space needs and nothing has been definitely decided. I want to assure you that when moves or changes are certain, we will let you know.

Thank you for attending this briefing session. And I look forward to your continued support in the months and years ahead.