pep talk

A full house packed Levin Hall for today’s Town Meeting. If you missed it, a recap, the new org chart, video recaps and a bunch of other stuff are now online. (Go visit the Town Hall web site).

This might be a good time to thank a whole bunch of people who work with us to make the meetings possible, by helping with the videotaping, the webcast, the campus broadcast, the audio, and so on. If you know any of these people, give them a pat on the back (listed in no particular order): Mark Kinonen, Veronica Pleasant, Eric Sample, Eddie Hunter, Sharon Enge, David Lidstone, Raymond Reyes, Brian Berlin, Shirley Hilton, Charlie Long, Kurt Lang; Rick Preston, David Svegliato, Candy Galan, Jandee Christensen, Rosey Ruiz, Donna Batson… (and I apologize to the others I’m forgetting). It’s a pleasure to work with this group. They make something potentially complex seem routine, and they do it for our benefit.

What do I think about the changes? I’m excited about them, and like many people, probably a little anxious about the unknown. I have a great deal of respect for all the people in those boxes that are being shuffled. I know it may not be easy. But I welcome the reorg and think it’s good for UTMB; I think it will help us get to where we need to be in terms of raising the bar and making a strong go at being excellent in everything we do. As the institution prospers, so can we and those we serve.

Today, for the first time Classified and A&P employees were able to cast their votes for members of UTMB’s Employee Advisory Council. It’s been a long road to get to this point, but I’m proud to see us here. The journey started with Dr. Stobo in late 2006 and was picked up with gusto by President Callender. A “build team” has been nurturing and incubating the EAC, working hard for the past year to put guildelines and processes in place, setting goals, building a web site, looking at what others have done. More recently, Information Services stepped up to help build a really impressive online voting application; the IS team that worked on this has been outstanding. I know the EAC members really appreciate the effort.

It’s an important time for the council, as it shifts focus from one heavy on planning and organization, to one where the group gets to do their “real” work. I hope you’ll join me in following the group’s progress with interest. 

We have some great nominees, candidates willing to work for you. Take a look at who they are and cast your vote for the person you think will do the best job.

UTMB’s employee survey is coming back next month. It’s slated to run from Feb. 11-29, and the participation incentives (cruise or cash) are being offered again. Remember that if we are serious about being the region’s premiere employer, we need UTMB’s people (you, me, everybody) to engage and help define what we do well and where we need to focus efforts. I’m not a big fan of surveys in general, and You Count in particular is running a little long in the tooth, but ultimately, it’s a little like voting: If you choose to not participate, you sort of give up the right to grumble about the results, in my opinion.

If somehow you missed the feedback and results from last year (maybe you were taking a cruise?) , it’s all still online, neatly bundled in a 400+ page PDF. Enjoy, and stay tuned for details on You Count 2008. 

President Callender launched a new outreach activity this month called “What’s on your mind?” I’ve had a chance to help a little with the set up and sit in on the first ones, at 1902 Harborside with employees who work in the building (from IS, Finance, Print Shop and HIM), and a second at the SON/SAHS. They’ve been informal, very open and  enjoyable discussions. Personally, I’ve enjoyed meeting a few new people, some of them ones I’ve emailed for years and never actually met. Funny how that happens. The feedback on these sessions has been good; they will continue, so watch for an opportunity to participate in one in your area in the months ahead.   

SOM Dean Garland Anderson sent a message to faculty and leadership today that is a pleasure to share. The 2007 NIH rankings are out, and the UTMB School of Medicine had four departments listed in the top 10: Anesthesiology (10), Biochemistry (10), Obstetrics, Gynecology (3) and Pathology (6). There were three departments in the top 20: Neuroscience (13), Otolaryngology (18) and Surgery (15).

It gets better. The rankings do not include contract awards, which could positively impact the ranking of these and other UTMB departments, and may well lead to more good news in the future. Numbers are easy to present; behind them is a lot of hard work by many talented people at all ranks. Congratulations to you all.  

One of the initiatives that Dr. Stobo started and Dr. Callender has embraced is the idea of an Employee Advisory Council, a group charged to represent classified and A&P staff in the all-important task of helping make UTMB the place to work. I was given an opportunity to provide logistical support to a small but hard-working group who were charged with setting things up. I only knew one of them when we started; I consider them all friends now. And they’ve done a great job. There’s an opportunity out there now for a few dedicated and wise individuals to offer a bit of their time, energy and good ideas in the service of others. Nominations are open for four additional EAC members, for elections that are slated to take place in January 2008. I hope some of you consider throwing your hats (and the good brains stored under them) in the ring.   Read about the EAC and the upcoming elections…      

If you are a nursing school grad in Texas or most places, before you get to don your scrubs and hit the wards, you take a Nursing Licensure Examination, nursing’s certification boards. How well students do is a pretty decent measure of how well a school is doing in preparing our future care providers. Word on the street is that our UTMB School of Nursing had another great year, with a 98% pass rate for their students on the examination. To put that figure in perspective, this pass rate is the highest of all the UT Nursing Schools, and higher than all the baccalaureate nursing programs in Texas. Of course, had anybody asked me, I could have told them long ago that we train and employ the best nurses in the state, but a little empirical evidence never hurts.  

I promised to post a link to last week’s School of Medicine Faculty Meeting. I’ll do you one better. I have the entire meeting, or if you’re just interested in the presentation by Dr. Luca Cicalese on the transplant program plans, I have that as well:  

• Click here for the full meeting
• Click here for the section about the transplant program

The School of Medicine had a faculty meeting late Thursday afternoon that had some folks in the office talking today. For starters, they introduced 40 very impressive new faculty members (One of them was some guy named David Callender, who’s a professor in Otolaryngology. smile). Another item that was well received and caused some excitement was a presentation about the new Transplant Program, presented by another new faculty member, Dr. Luca Cicalese. I had “Literacy Night” at my son’s school and missed it all, but the SOM had it taped and plans to webcast it. As soon as it’s online, I’ll post a link.