Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62120
message from the interim dean emphasizing during my time at the helm of the college. One of my long-term goals is to establish the College of Medicine as a national leader in medical education. The college already is the biggest medical school in the U.S. It also should be the best in how it prepares tomorrow's physicians for the ever-evolving world of patient care delivery. A Concurrent with this effort is the understanding that research is the backbone of advancing scare and in- creasing the body of knowledge regarding disease manage- ment and prevention. Therefore, the college must continue to expand its research portfolio, particularly in the area of translational research—that is, the translation of scientific discovery into new and better forms of patient care and community outreach. This emphasis weaves the importance of what we study in the lab into the delivery of care for the benefit of our patients. How we deliver patient care is undergoing change. As you'll read elsewhere in this issue, the University of Illinois is reorganizing the administration of its clinical services to improve how we provide care and make our delivery of care more efficient. I look forward to working with Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, MD, the university's new vice president for health affairs, to help achieve his visions for the health science system. In assuming the leadership of the college, I am fortunate to follow outgoing dean Joseph A. Flaherty, MD, who recruited me to be chair of the department of ophthalmology (a position I continue to hold) and whose leadership has enhanced the college in so many ways. Not least among his successes is the more than $250 million the college has raised during the university's current fundraising campaign. I hope to continue this momentum in order to further advance the college's mission of education, research and clinical care. My commitment is to better serve our students, both by providing more scholarships to reduce their debt burden and by upgrading our facilities to enhance their education. I will also expand the college's ability to provide research grants and endowed chairs and professorships in order to recruit and retain outstanding faculty members. And, of course, I want to help improve our clinical facilities to enable Illinois Medicine to advance the already outstanding patient care we provide. I look forward to working with you on these goals and bringing you news of our progress. S I ASSUME THE ROLE OF LEAD- ING THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, I am both humbled and excited by the responsibility being entrusted to me. I know that the College of Medicine is dear to us, and you have my promise that I will do my best to be a good steward of it. I already have identified a number of priority areas that I will be Dimitri T. Azar, MD, MBA Interim Dean, University of Illinois College of Medicine B.A. Field Endowed Chair of Ophthalmologic Research Head, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences I L L INOI S MEDICINE | 3 PHOTO: ROBERTA DUPUIS-DEVLIN