A warm welcome

Dear Windsor Campus Community:

Welcome to all new new learners, faculty, staff and other members of our Windsor medical education community.

It is always such a pleasure to welcome each of you to the Schulich Medicine - Windsor Campus as part of our annual Meet & Greet Event. It was great too to say hello again to returning students, residents and other members of our team, as we launch into the new academic year. I hope each of you have had a chance to enjoy the wonderful summer weather these past few months and that your batteries are fully charged.

One of the most important developments of the Windsor Campus took place in July when Dr. Amit Chakma, President & Vice Chancellor of Western University joined his counterpart, Dr. Alan Wildeman, President & Vice Chancellor of the University of Windsor to sign a new 10-year Affiliation Agreement.

I do not want to put too fine a point on this, but this is critical to Schulich Medicine’s having a sustainable future in Windsor. The agreement speaks to the fact that both universities are significantly invested in the success of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and of the Windsor Campus in particular. This development is certainly worth our applause.

Many thanks to Drs. Chakma and Wildeman, and the many individuals who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this agreement from concept to reality including Jeff Berryman, Steve Jarrett, Douglas Kneale, Dwayne Martins, Brian Mazer, John Ruicci, Nicole Sbrocca, and Michael Strong, in particular.

This past summer, members of our faculty achieved some important milestones/accolades: Dr. Rachel Burdett became just the fourth faculty member to achieve their Faculty Development Teaching Certificate through the School’s Continuing Professional Development program. Dr. Larry Jacobs was voted Teacher of the Year and Family Medicine Specialist Teacher of the Year by residents. Meanwhile, Dr. Catherine Yanchula was part of a Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada team that helped to publish new guidelines, which were published in the prestigious International Journal of Stroke (July 21, 2016). And Dr. Mark Awuku received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Windsor. Congratulations to Drs. Burdett, Jacobs, Yanchula and Awuku on these impressive accomplishments. You make us all proud.

There are a number of things we are looking forward to in the 2016-17 academic period:

  • Building on previous efforts that will enable us to expand the Schulich UWindsor Opportunities for Research Excellence Program (SWORP);
  • Enhancing our work in and across interprofessional education (IPE) platforms;
  • Continuing our work with the academic leadership optimization efforts begun some time ago; we are always wanting to hear from faculty who are keen to take on new teaching assigments, leadership roles and important committee contributions;
  • Establishing broader clinical opportunities for our learners, in particular at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare;
  • Engaging with medical and health care leaders throughout Essex County to proceed with the creation of the Essex Academy as part of Schulich Medicine’s Distributed Education program.

I am looking forward to October 24, when the Windsor Campus’ Academic Leadership Team will assemble for their annual dinner meeting. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Lorelei Lingard, director, Centre for Education Research & Innovation at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, and one of the world’s foremost experts regarding the importance of communications in health care environments.

So, as always, there is no shortage of exciting developments that await us this coming year. In the meantime, I wish you all a smooth transition back to academe.

Gerry Cooper EdD,
Associate Dean, Windsor Campus