From Aron’s Desk

Friends, 

This week, I had the pleasure of greeting about 250 new Rosalind Franklin University students as they started their university and program orientation. They enter into the health professions at a particularly important time. We all know there are provider shortages in this country, and about 92 million Americans (almost 1 in 4 of us) live in a primary care health care shortage area. To the underlying shortage you can stack up systemic reductions in Medicaid funding, reductions in ACA subsidies stripping people of commercial insurance, inflation, etc. We all need these new students to provide care for us and our neighbors, especially those neighbors across rural and urban communities who have lost access to health care. 

Primary care shortage areas are not only short of primary care providers, and often need the whole array of professions educated here at RFU. Despite a seared federal education landscape destined to reduce opportunity, we have managed to support students and enrollment looks good headed into our early start programs. Our faculty and staff are nimble and clever. The early start curricula will improve academic opportunity, and we expect it to help students succeed. Most institutions do not have the systems to pivot in the way RFU has, and I am deeply impressed by the effort and dedication of our staff and faculty over the last year of design and implementation. 

Orientations are among the most optimistic of experiences. Opportunity and possibility sit in every single seat. And, the events I attended this week were a delight. My thanks to Dean of Students Shelly Brzycki, MS, her team, and the people of the colleges for all of the work they did to welcome our new students this week. Extra credit too for this week coming on the heels of finals last week and just before graduation next week. Whew!

Perhaps most importantly, each of these new students is signing up to help people, which is an ethos our society desperately needs to encourage. Health care is among the noblest of professions, dedicated to helping people when they need it most, and it feels absolutely wonderful to be in a room of mostly young folks so dedicated. It is a great privilege to sit down with a person when they are in need of help. That work is why we exist as a university, that is why our faculty and alumni joined these professions years and often decades ago, that is why our newest students have come to join us.

Improving the wellness of all people with you, 

Aron