From Aron’s Desk

Friends,

Many of you know that much of my career has been spent increasing the engagement and collaboration between communities and universities. Education and educational pathways are the clearest examples of these partnerships. Indeed, our supporters help fund Rosalind Franklin University programs that support young people exploring health careers long before they would apply for our programs. Beyond education, it is possible to have these kinds of partnerships in science and health intervention programming, as well as clinical services like our Interprofessional Community Clinic and Community Care Connection. Compared to other institutions in the region, we are well-positioned to work with our neighbors to improve the health and quality of life for those around us. Our ability to do that work is our unfair competitive advantage. Check out my visit to ICC later in this update.

On Wednesday morning, we held the Health Equity Breakfast, which brought together our community partners and organizations that fund our work. We used the breakfast as a chance to introduce some of our faculty to our community partners. Specifically, our panel discussed neurodegenerative disease and health equity, complete with a virtual reality demonstration from RFU’s Empathy Lab illustrating the impact of Alzheimer's Disease through the eyes of a patient. The empathy simulation was presented by Dr. Scholl Foundation Empathy Lab director Lori Thuente, PhD RN. Our panel also included presentations about Alzheimer's Disease and the burden it places on patients and families by Grace “Beth” Stutzmann, PhD, professor and discipline chair of neuroscience, and Holly Hunsberger, PhD, assistant professor. Our moderator was Joe DiMario, PhD, executive vice president for research. The panel discussed neurodegenerative diseases, their research, and how their programs engage pathway students. I really enjoyed the chance to learn more about the work of our faculty, students, and staff, and I had the chance to meet more of our community partners, which I always enjoy. My thanks to the team in Institutional Advancement for bringing us all together. There was some breakfast left over, and in the great tradition of healthcare, the students took care of that for us. Waffles make the world a better place.

Last week, I wrote about the Rosalind Franklin University Board of Trustees quarterly meetings, which were held over the last ten days or so. This is my first set of meetings as president, and I am so impressed by the work of our executive team in the run-up to and the execution of the meetings. Successful board meetings take a full team. I want to thank Johnna Purcell, Executive Administrator, who supports Lee Concha, Executive Vice President for University Strategies and Chief of Staff, and me, and who handles Board of Trustees operations. I also want to recognize Lee’s leadership in shaping the strategic agenda and guiding governance work in close partnership with me, the board, and our administrators. There are staff who work to make each of the board’s committees run well, so my thanks to Amy Hilse for her work on the academic affairs committee, Julie Wagner for her support of the research committee, and Kody Raslawski for his support of the audit committee. And, a special thanks to Emily Nyblad for her work with the audit team resulting in our clean audit!

The academic affairs committee met this week, and that group brings the full force of our team into play, including our deans, the faculty affairs and academic affairs offices, student affairs, and strategic enrollment management. I have been continually impressed by how the team prepares the board for their work.

One of Rosalind Franklin University's great strengths is the dedication and expertise of its board members. Their questions are excellent, and their dedication is clear, not least for the time and effort they put in for their outrageous remuneration ($0) and an expected donation. I think our students, staff, and faculty would be happy to know that over the course of the meetings this month the board members asked a range of detailed questions about student life, financial aid, tuition, tutoring, staff satisfaction, faculty retention, endowment, philanthropy, research focus, all the changes in federal policy, and then a lot of questions about finances. They are highly engaged and well-focused in their oversight role. It has been a pleasure to work with our board and get to know the members as individuals.

One pleasure of the board meeting is the final approval of promotions. These faculty not only have demonstrated their excellence and deserve their promotion at the university, their future teaching, research, service, and leadership are the future of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Congratulations to:

• Professor Hongkyun Kim, PhD
• Professor Joseph Reynolds, PhD
• Professor Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD
• Professor Sneha Srivastava, PharmD
• Associate Professor Christopher Reddin, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC
• Associate Professor Rahul Vijay, BVSc, AH (DVM), MS, PhD
• Assistant Professor Thanh Luu, DO
• Assistant Professor Timothy Mallers, MSN

I have been looking forward to my visit to the Interprofessional Community Clinic since I signed on to be president. If you want to feel like a room without a roof, you should visit and get a tour with ICC President Lana Trautman, CMS ‘28 and Operations Director, and vaccine fridge maven, Misty Fils, MS PA-C ‘14 if you get the chance. (Shout out to Melissa Chen, MD, too!) Our staff, faculty, and students do remarkable work to help our neighbors in need.

This clinic is a national model made possible by our clinic's largest contributors: the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County (through their Giving Tuesday Challenge Grant, which runs through December 16th), the MolinaCares Foundation, and the Illinois Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. Our partners help fund the clinic; our students provide the energy, drive, and care supervised by our faculty and staff. And, our neighbors trust us with their health and the health of their loved ones. That clinic is a community mitzvah.

Improving the health of all people with you,

Aron

Aron Sousa, MD
President