Meet Dr. Davy Cheng, Acting Dean
Dr. Davy Cheng began his tenure as Acting Dean on October 1.
Prior to his current role he served as the Chair/Chief of the Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine from 2001-2017, and also as Chair of the Committee of Clinical Chairs from 2012-2016. He holds a BSc (Hon) in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, an MSc in Biochemistry from Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, and his MD from the University of Toronto, where he completed his internal medicine internship and anesthesia residency in 1987. Dr. Cheng joined the faculty at the University of Toronto following a Clinical Research Fellowship and a Cardiovascular Anesthesia Fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Prior to joining Schulich Medicine & Dentistry in 2001, he was a Professor and Deputy Chief of Anesthesiology at Toronto General Hospital and he also served as Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Program for the University Health Network in Toronto.
It’s been an exciting first two months for Dr. Cheng whose attention has been divided up amongst a variety of projects and initiatives. We sat down with Dr. Cheng to learn more about his first few months in his role and his short and long term goals.
Can you describe what the first few months in your new role of Acting Dean have been like?
Let me say, that it is an honour and truly humbling to be in this role to continue to excel and transform Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.
During my first few months I have had a number of opportunities to meet the School’s alumni and I am so grateful to them for their continuing loyalty for their continued connection with us. I want to ensure we continue to make them proud of the School.
Overall it has been very exciting and intensely busy.
During the fall months, the School works on its budget as part of the larger budget exercise at the University. To be honest with you, I didn’t realize the scope and intensity of the budget process for the School. The overall University is looking at budget cuts and the School is facing a six per cent reduction so I’ve been involved in many meetings and discussions with stakeholders across the School, as well as with the Provost’s Office.
I have really valued and have been so impressed by the commitment of faculty and staff and their understanding of what needs to be done during this challenging time.
What are some of the most immediate projects that you are focused on? What are the longer-term projects?
There are day-to-day projects and challenges that come up in the education, research and clinical fronts. There is, of course, the two-year budget cycle.
But beyond the immediate budget preparation and submission, we are also very focused on a number of short and long term projects. These include: infrastructure renewal and fundraising; recruitment and retention in medicine & dentistry; competency-based medical education and distributed education integration; impactful research; talent and leadership development; mentorship; diversity, equity and inclusivity; Indigenous priorities, and strategic internationalization.
The School is actively recruiting for a Chair position in Biochemistry, and Chair/Chief positions in Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, a Vice Dean & Director for Schulich Dentistry, and other decanal and faculty and staff leadership positions.
We are realigning our education and training priorities in the Middle East and continuing to work with our academic partners on renewing our clinical department mandates.
The directions and goals outlined in the School’s strategic remain front in centre for us as work to realize our vision to be a global leader in optimizing life-long health.
Part of this includes developing new ideas for disinvestment and reinvestment so we can fiscally sustain the School. We need to work on becoming more creative and on developing new sources of revenue and attracting revenue so that we aren’t so vulnerable to shifts in provincial and other funding. Doing so will ensure we are healthier as a School, and that our programs achieve their goals.
From my perspective we need to emerge from this budget challenge and transform the School in becoming a much stronger and more sustainable organization in order to fulfill our strategic plan directions and goals.
What has been the most surprising and most satisfying of the role
I would say, the most surprising aspect of this role is just how busy it is and the multitude of interactions I have on a regular basis with faculty, staff, learners, hospital partners, regional partners, and government leaders.
The most satisfying for me has been the interactions with faculty and staff. I’ve been so impressed with their talent and commitment especially as we are going through the budget process.
With such a busy schedule, how are you achieving balance in your life?
Well… ironically I have not yet mastered my own work-life balance, so I would say right now don’t do as I do but do as I say when it comes to balancing work and life.
Seriously though, I am very fortunate and am blessed that my spouse Winnie is very understanding of my increased responsibilities. I also love to drive, and sometimes I’ll just jump in the car and go for a short drive, and I don’t seem to worry about anything but driving. Wellness and work-life balance are important and I continue to work on this for myself and all our faculty and staff.
