(Not the) Dean's Message
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This space usually is reserved for a few words from the dean, but as this issue marks a transition in leadership of the School of Medicine, please allow me to borrow it to introduce our new dean, Dr. Christian Larsen.
I take considerable pride in the fact that Dr. Larsen (Chris) is an alumnus of Emory. He graduated from Emory College in 1980 and from the medical school in 1984, and he completed postgraduate training at Emory, and also at Stanford and Oxford, in surgery and transplantation.
I am proud too that Chris decided to pursue his career at Emory. He joined the faculty in 1991 and became founding director of the Emory Transplant Center in 2001 and chair of surgery in 2009. During his time here, he has earned great respect not just for remarkable accomplishments (see article on page 12) but also for his collaborative spirit and ability to lead by example.
Because he has seen Emory from so many perspectives—as student, resident, teacher, researcher, surgeon, and administrator—no one knows more about the school's strengths, challenges, and potential in all its missions than Chris Larsen does. Nor is anyone better suited to help shape the school's culture to meet present and future needs.
At Emory and at other academic medical centers throughout the country, we are facing unprecedented change that will significantly affect all of our missions. We are facing financial constraints and changes in national policy that will impact the new discoveries needed to improve health as well as training for the next generation of health professionals. For our medical school to thrive, we need a visionary leader who can approach this new environment with creativity and in an integrated fashion, one who has the courage to do more with less by focusing on areas where we can have the most impact, one who can bring together teams of professionals to solve these big challenges.
That person is Chris Larsen, our new dean of medicine, vice president of health center integration in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and chair of the board of the Emory Clinic. With his passion and dedication to service, he epitomizes the principles of our benefactor Mr. Robert W. Woodruff. He is the right leader for this time.
S. Wright Caughman
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs
CEO, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Chairman, Emory Healthcare
