November 2000  Volume 2   Number 3

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE BREAKS GROUND ON HSF II Governor Glendening, Chancellor Langenberg, President Ramsay & Dean Wilson Wield Shovels & Move Earth On Tuesday, October 24, 2000, at 2:00 p.m., Governor Parris N. Glendening, USM Chancellor Donald N. Langenberg, UMB President David J. Ramsay, Dean Wilson and the NIH’s Ruth Kirschstein broke ground on Health Sciences Facility II at the corner of Penn and West Lombard streets. HSFII, a $67 million state-of-the-art biomedical research building, will dramatically increase laboratory space and pave the way for new breakthroughs in basic science, disease prevention and treatment. “Health Sciences Facility II will help us recruit and retain the best doctors, scientists, and students, and enhance our ability to compete internationally for research funding,” said Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine. “Research grants to the School of Medicine have more than doubled in the last decade to $170 million dollars, and HSF II will allow us to continue that phenomenal growth.” The new building will add more than 100,000 square feet of research, office and meeting space in a distinctive concave-shaped building, enabling the School of Medicine to expand its world-renowned programs to fight infectious disease and develop life saving vaccines. Two floors of the new building will be occupied by the School of Pharmacy’s Drug Design and Structural Biology programs. “HSF II will keep the University of Maryland on the cutting edge of medical research, education and patient care,” said Governor Glendening, who played a key role in securing funding for the project. “By giving doctors and scientists the resources to do their best work, HSF II will foster breakthroughs and discoveries that will improve health care worldwide.” The new building will have dozens of state-of-the-art laboratories built to meet the technical demands of 21st century research. A $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be used to establish an Emerging Pathogens Research Center, which will have special containment areas for the safe study of infectious diseases. Dr. Kirschstein said, “The speakers today represent the state of Maryland, the University of Maryland, the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, and the NIH. This seems right to me because the science in which we put our faith is not a lonely enterprise. To the contrary, it relies on collaborations and partnerships as much for its intellectual capital as for its material assets. As I look at the good company in which I find myself today – at partners and colleagues – I have every confidence that this new building will reward our collaborations and constancy in research with remarkable, groundbreaking science.” State funding for HSF II will total $57 million. The Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy will contribute $10 million dollars raised through private donations and other grants. The project is expected to create more than 600 jobs and continue the economic revitalization of West Baltimore. “I am pleased that Governor Glendening and the General Assembly have recognized the need to expand research space and modernize the buildings that support UMB’s six professional schools,” said President Ramsay. New buildings for the library and the School of Nursing were completed in 1998, a building shared by the schools of law and social work will be finished in 2002, and plans are being made for a new dental school. HSF II will adjoin the original Health Sciences Facility (HSF I), which was completed in 1995. The new building will also be connected to the Medical School Teaching Facility, Howard Hall, and the Bressler Research Building. HSF II will be located across the street from the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and faculty members will have easy access to the University of Maryland Medical Center and the Baltimore VA Medical Center. A reception was held immediately following the groundbreaking ceremony under a tent erected on the green outside the south entrance to HSFI. Over 200 faculty, staff, students, elected officials, and friends enjoyed a buffet reception to the accompaniment of a Celtic harp-flute duo. HSF II is expected to be completed by December 2002.		SOM Wins AAMC AWARDS Dean Wilson To Lead Nation’s Deans; Three AAMC Awards go to School of Medicine Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean, School of Medicine, has been named chair of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). As chairman, Dr. Wilson will be an advocate for the nation’s medical schools and will testify before Congress on issues affecting medical education, research, and patient care. He assumed the council chairmanship on October 27th at the AAMC’s annual meeting in Chicago. Dr. Wilson was also the recipient of the first Herbert W. Nickens, MD, Award, and gave the Nickens Memorial Lecture on October 30 at the annual meeting. His lecture, entitled “Diversity: The Need, the Challenge, the Promise,” focused on the importance of ethnic diversity, not only in the delivery of culturally competent health care, but also in setting agendas for clinical research. The Herbert W. Nickens, MD, Award honors the tireless work of the late Dr. Herbert Nickens in addressing the educational, societal, and health care needs of minorities. This award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to promoting justice in medical education and health care. The AAMC established the Herbert W. Nickens, MD, Memorial Fund to continue to advance Dr. Nickens’ lifelong concern for justice in medical education and health care. The fund supports faculty fellowships, student scholarships and the annual lecture. “Dr. Wilson received this award because of his tireless commitment to increasing opportunities for minorities in health care, and for his innovation in medical education at the undergraduate and graduate levels,” said Claudia Baquet, MD, MPH, Associate Dean for Policy and Planning. “Dr. Wilson is an academician of the first order, a proven administrator, a risk-taker with a strong work ethic, a widely respected internist, a man of integrity and a demonstrated leader.” Dr. Calia Receives Distinguished Teaching Award Frank M. Calia, MD, MACP, Vice Dean & Senior Associate Dean for Academic Administration, received the AAMC’s Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award, which recognizes the significant contributions to medical education made by gifted teachers. The award was presented to Dr. Calia at this year’s AAMC annual meeting. Dr. Calia, who joined the faculty in 1969, rose through the ranks to professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, and Chief of Medical Service at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Dr. Calia has been a role model to thousands of medical students and house officers at the School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center. “With no exaggeration it can be said that just about every senior medical student talks with Dr. Calia about his or her future, and seeks a letter of recommendation from him,” commented Dean Wilson. “This is not because of his position; it is because of the role that he has played in their educational experience. He is the one they seek out.” Public Affairs Department Receives Award of Excellence The School of Medicine’s joint media relations program with the University of Maryland Medical System has won an Award of Excellence — a first place honor — from the AAMC. The award recognizes our media relations program as a national model that has achieved success at every level. In the first year of the combined program, the media placements increased by 112 percent and are now approaching 7,000 per year. “Our media relations team has achieved excellent results in raising awareness of the School of Medicine, by developing effective media strategies, working with physicians and other staff to find newsworthy developments and offering story ideas to reporters, editors and producers,” says Jennifer B. Litchman, public affairs director for the School of Medicine.