Message from the Dean
The new school year-an event or a journey?
Dear friends and colleagues,
As VUSM begins another year, I want to let you know how honored I am to serve as the School's Dean. As a graduate of our M.D./Ph.D program, I have been at Vanderbilt as a student and later as a faculty member for 17 years. I am deeply committed to our people, our mission and our culture.
The year ahead promises a wealth of challenges and opportunities. Nothing better captures the thrill of new beginnings at VUSM than our White Coat Ceremony, held this year on August 15. This traditional donning of the physician's signature garment marked the official entrance into medical school for the 105 members of VUSM's 132nd class.
During the ceremony, I asked our students to contemplate the upcoming year. Did they view what lay before them as a series of milestones to be reached, or as a journey to be experienced? We are all—students and faculty alike—intensely focused on the many challenges we anticipate in the year ahead of us. But as we reflect on the past year, did we remember to live in the moment—learning and experiencing all we could as we navigated the maze of professional hurdles? Did we view the "sand traps" we encountered simply as obstacles to be endured, or as rich opportunities for growth?
The road of life has many twists and turns. Many times, particularly on the long road of medical education, we become so focused on reaching the destination that we find ourselves rushing through the journey.
My wish for our students—and for you—is to remember to live in the moment as we strive to reach our many ambitious goals. And may we all have experiences this year that offer rich opportunities for learning, growth and happiness.
Warmest regards,
Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine