Remarks by Barbara Atkinson, M.D.

on the occasion of her investiture as Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center

Video of Investiture Ceremony
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February 2, 2005

Thank you for that warm reception. As I look around this auditorium today I see so many good friends—those of you who helped bring me here and keep me here, and who have provided advice and friendship over the last five years. It is really the wonderful people here who make this place so special, and who will make it great. Many of you I know well, but to those others whom I don’t know as well, I want you to know that I’m really looking forward to getting to know you and working more closely with you.

I want to thank each one of you – my leadership team, faculty members, students, staff, and especially you community leaders who have invested your time, talent and resources in the University of Kansas Medical Center – and I want you all to know that I appreciate your continued support and involvement. You are the heart and soul of this Medical Center and any success that we enjoy will be the result of your commitment to our mission. Thank you all for being here.

Let me also thank Regent Bond for his leadership and friendship. The University of Kansas Medical Center has no greater friends than Dick and Sue Bond. The Bonds are trusted advisors and advocates for the Medical Center, and I personally value all that they have done to support both me and this institution. Although I don’t publicize it much, Dick told you about my secret life as a birder. I will return the favor by letting you know about his secret life as a duck hunter. From what I hear, the ducks don’t have any more to worry about when he is out hunting, than the birds do, when I am out birding. Thank you for being here today, Dick.

And to Chancellor Hemenway, thank you for your confidence in me and your confidence in the future of this campus. Your unwavering commitment to our biomedical research agenda, your passion to create premier learning communities, and to position the University of Kansas as the research university for this region, has led to huge success in advancing our mission. Your leadership has made a difference.

And I also want to acknowledge our colleagues on the Wichita campus who are watching today by closed circuit TV. You are an essential and valued part of this medical center and of our future. You extend our reach, and enhance our prestige by your outstanding community based programs, your strong focus on educating doctors for Kansas, and your commitment to enhancing the health of the citizens of our state. Thank you for all that you do, and I look forward to seeing you in Wichita again soon.

I also want to thank my family. Some very important people in my life are here today: my dad and mom, Walter and Rhoda Frajola, and my husband, Bill Atkinson. Their support, mentoring, love, and encouragement, are a daily source of strength for me. Also here today are my son, George Atkinson, with his wife, Julie McCollum, and my daughter, Nancy Perkins, with her husband, Charles Perkins. Thanks for bringing the joy to my life.

Occasions such as this provide us the rare opportunity for a new beginning. So let me use this occasion —this new beginning -- to provide you with my vision of where we are headed. If you will, a road map to guide our journey forward. A road map that first assesses the trends and opportunities we confront. A road map that then sets forth a series of benchmarks by which we will judge our success. If the National Institutes of Health needs a road map — then so do we.

Venturing into any wilderness, particularly the frontiers of the future, can be unsettling. But, like any frontier, I believe it helps if we see things not as they are, but as they will be. By envisioning all that we will accomplish together, I am hopeful that we will pursue our mission with a high enthusiasm and confidence which will encourage others to join us on our incredible journey.

For one hundred years the citizens of Kansas have invested in this Medical Center. It is a reflection of their trust in us and their hope for the future. While the medicine of 100 years ago may seem primitive by today’s standards — we have to understand that the advances which now define modern medicine were achieved by the day to day work of those who came before us, as they continually moved the bar higher. And now it is our turn to create the next 100 years of amazing exploration, innovation, and discovery.

I am confident that the Medical Center will provide more than our share of positive contributions to the future, because I am a strong believer in the people here and in the transformative power of our type of higher education. This power is demonstrated very clearly in what we do. We change lives through education. We save lives and alleviate suffering through the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge. We provide comfort and hope. And we contribute to stronger families and communities. This is a calling worthy of our best efforts. Every day we must challenge ourselves to do more and do it better. Given the vital nature of our calling we must each acknowledge that “good” is not good enough — we must be dedicated to achieving nothing short of greatness.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once used the phrase, “the fierce urgency of now.” Such a phrase aptly describes what I feel as I assess our opportunities for the future. Those of you who know me, know I’m impatient. We cannot wait. We must forge the future with “a fierce urgency” that is devoid of complacency, and full of opportunity.

There are several important trends that shape our world—trends we must understand as we chart our course. Let me review just a few of them.

The first is the New Economy. This new economy will be knowledge-based and dependent on highly technical skills and information. Growth and prosperity will be fueled not by what we grow or make, but by what we know and think. The richness of the soil and the industry of our hands must now be complimented by the fruits of our intellect. Our state’s fertile soil was the foundation of past prosperity – but the harvests of the future will be sown by the minds of our faculty, researchers and students. Consequently, our road map must be designed to guide us through a landscape where intellect, innovation, and creativity are strategically cultivated and where an infectious spirit of exploration and risk-taking, leads the way. In the new economy, these are the raw materials from which the greatest accomplishments of the Medical Center’s next century will be crafted.

The relevance of higher education to a knowledge-based economy is obvious. This institution is dedicated to equipping students with the critical thinking and caring skills they will need to compete in this new economy. We are intensely involved in the discovery, dissemination, application and commercialization of new knowledge. Simply stated, I believe the success of this Medical Center in achieving its mission will determine, in large part, whether or not Kansas and our region thrive in the new economic order.

Perhaps no field has the potential for any greater change over the next 20 years than health care. The mapping of the human genome and the recent advances in the understanding of human disease at the genetic level, have revolutionized medicine. This new base of knowledge presents both unlimited opportunities and unprecedented expectations and challenges for us.

And the final trend we must acknowledge is spelled out by simple demographics. The number of seniors grows each year as the baby boomer generation ages. This trend will increase demand for health care for the foreseeable future. We will be challenged to create adequate capacity in our schools and practices to address this need. We are already feeling the effects of a shortage of nursing and allied health professionals, and a shortage in some specialties of medicine.

The fierce urgency I feel is rooted in my belief that never before in the history of this institution has the convergence of opportunities been greater. We are privileged to be here at this time.

Let me share with you how the convergence of so many opportunities should instill in all of us the “fierce urgency of now.”

Let’s start in our own backyard and move outward.

Changes at the Medical Center have created considerable opportunity. The creation of a hospital authority and the leadership of the hospital’s executive team under the guidance of Irene Cumming, President and CEO of the University of Kansas Hospital, have restored financial vitality and respect, to a once struggling institution. Our patient census is at an all time high, as is our patient satisfaction. These results reflect well on our faculty, whose academic and tertiary expertise, differentiates this hospital in the Kansas City region. Clearly the hospital’s success is essential to our University’s success, and vice versa.

Changes at the University of Kansas have resulted from the Chancellor’s call to become “One University.” His leadership and vision have fostered a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and have broken down barriers which inhibited joint growth in the past. By leveraging the strengths of our KU colleagues in Lawrence, Wichita and Overland Park, we significantly enhance the opportunity for success for us all.

In our home community, a renaissance has taken place. Under the leadership of Mayor Carol Marinovich the city and county government has been unified and tremendous growth and investment have followed. Our relationships with our local leaders have never been better.

Within the Kansas City metropolitan area, civic leaders have embraced an aggressive agenda for economic transformation, which has, at its root, a commitment to support life sciences research. With our outstanding scientists, clinicians, and educators, we are well positioned to lead this effort. We recognize that our success will only be fully realized when others achieve success as well.

From this life sciences initiative, new partnerships are emerging. One of our best is with the Stowers Institute. It is important to acknowledge that the gift that Jim and Virginia Stowers made to start this Institute, has forever transformed Kansas City into a leader in basic life science research for the nation.

Our state government has made significant, ground-breaking investments in life sciences research. The bioscience research building now taking shape on our campus, is a demonstration that the leverage of state dollars with public and private philanthropy can have a transforming effect on our life science research effort. The contribution of many private donors has changed the face of our campus, and we would not have been able to recruit the 100, new faculty scientists and clinicians who have arrived in the last few years, without the promise of this new space and additional private support.

Last year, the momentum continued to build. With strong legislative leadership, the Kansas Economic Growth Act which created the Kansas Bioscience Authority was passed. This Authority has the potential to invest half a billion dollars in life science research in Kansas. This has done much to create the buzz our friends throughout the nation are hearing about Kansas.

The federal government has also done its share. Federal funding for biomedical research has grown at an unprecedented rate. The NIH awarded 18.8 billion dollars in grants and contracts in 2003, an increase of 160 percent over the last decade. Our researchers have successfully competed for these increased dollars at an even higher rate of growth than the national average, and we believe we are now in a strong position to continue to compete in the future, as this increase flattens.

And so the stage is set. We have acknowledged the trends which define our world and we have identified the opportunities which call us to action. So now the question is raised — What are we prepared to do to capitalize on this unique situation?

First, let me turn to our highest priority—the education of future health care professionals. Central to our mission is our commitment to train the health care professionals and researchers of tomorrow. Future leaders like nursing student Chito Belchez.

VIDEO ONE

Great students like Chito deserve the best from us. To help students fulfill their dreams, we will create exceptional learning environments. To do this we will implement an innovative and academically rigorous curriculum. We will invest in technology and increasingly deliver educational programs using an interdisciplinary, patient-centered model. We will enrich learning experiences with excellent clinical interactions, and opportunities for community service. We will value good teaching, and we will recruit and reward good teachers.

We must create a student-centered educational experience, with classes delivered by faculty who are fully engaged in helping our students achieve their goals. Our faculty, staff and administrators are accessible, encouraging and responsive to student needs and concerns. Our students need to be trained as exceptional critical thinkers who can analyze difficult problems, formulate effective plans for action, and provide optimal clinical care. We will foster a culture where diversity is valued and differences are respected. And we will use our outreach programs to encourage young Kansans to pursue careers in health care.

Just as the creation of new health care professionals is at the core of our mission, so too, is the creation of new knowledge. Consequently, our road map for research must be aggressive. Within the next five years:

We will equip and open our new biosciences building and begin planning additional research space.

We will enhance the support available to our researchers and students in the development and submission of grant proposals.

We will make continuous improvements in grants administration and compliance auditing—all designed to allow our researchers to focus on high performance activities.

We will continue to grow the total dollar value of externally funded research, by attracting and retaining high quality faculty who will successfully compete for grant awards.

We will renew our efforts to commercialize the intellectual property created in our laboratories, and thereby develop a funding source for ongoing research as well as fuel community economic development.

We will partner with others to expand the reach of our research efforts—especially with the basic science researchers at the Stowers Institute. Here’s what the Director of the Stowers Institute, Dr. Bill Neaves, recently said about the promise of such a partnership.

VIDEO TWO

We couldn’t ask for better partners, especially as we strive for National Cancer Institute designation for our cancer center, under the leadership of Dr. Roy Jensen. This achievement is among our highest research priorities. Here’s what Dr. Jensen said when asked to assess this opportunity.

VIDEO THREE

As Dr. Jensen said, one of our greatest strengths is the ability to take what we have learned in the laboratory and apply it for the benefit of patients. The success of our work will never be measured in square footage built or grant dollars received. We will judge our success, by the extent to which we have used our talents and the resources entrusted to us, to improve the health of those we serve.

Within the next few years we will design and build a new center for advanced medicine that will house most of our physicians’ office practices and specialty services. This new building will allow us to enhance patient access to our doctors and increase patient satisfaction, and parking. The ability to make a positive impact on the lives of the patients we serve is one of the greatest benefits of our work. Here’s what cancer patient Barbara Unell recently said about her experience.

VIDEO FOUR

We have much to learn from our patients and others when we take time to listen. Our goals cannot be achieved in isolation. We must be integrated into the fabric of our community, state and region. Our highest aspirations will be fulfilled only if our work is supported and sustained by valued relationships with other institutions, community leaders and private donors. To achieve this level of integration we all must do our part. Our faculty must be engaged in the community, and we will seek to recognize and reward those who do just that. When people know about what we do, I am confident that they will support us fully.

I am committed to an aggressive pursuit of state and federal legislative support for this institution.

I am also committed to reaching out in meaningful ways to bring new voices of support to advocate on our behalf.

You will see me traveling throughout our state and I intend to take many of you with me. We serve Kansans and we have an obligation to let them know what we are doing with their investment, and to learn what their needs and aspirations are.

Additionally, we will soon be convening the first meeting of a new Advancement Board for the Medical Center — a group of distinguished community leaders, who have agreed to help advance our agenda and support our vision. I am hopeful that members of this Advancement Board will become powerful advocates, who will influence public policy, and help motivate private donors to share this journey with us.

We also must do more to develop lasting relationships with patients whose lives have been forever changed by the care they received here. Their generosity can provide the margin of excellence we need to cure disease and prevent suffering. They are forever a part of the KU Medical Center family and we must encourage and welcome their continued support.

And we will not forget our best ambassadors, our faculty and alumni. We will seek to enlist their active support and solicit their involvement in creating excellent educational opportunities for today’s students – our future alumni.

The fulfillment of our highest aspirations is within our reach. The road map I have shared with you today is a reflection of my belief that we can, and will, achieve great things together. I pledge to you my best efforts to make this vision a reality. And I ask for your best efforts in return. Within each of us resides a passion to make a difference in the world—to be a change agent. We have been blessed with a calling to serve others. A calling from which I believe, we receive more than we give. I am committed to creating a place where our dreams and the dreams of our community, our state, and our region can prosper.

Leadership on this campus resides not only in the EVC’s office. If our dreams are to prosper, leadership must be every classroom, laboratory and office on this campus. Please join me in the “fierce urgency of now.”

And thank you for the privilege of serving you as your Executive Vice Chancellor. Together, let’s create the next 100 years for the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Video of Investiture Ceremony
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