MUSC Catalyst 1-30-2015

Page 1

January 30, 2015

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

Vol. 33, No. 22

2015: A strategic approach to a new year Inside What are the most pressing issues? Well, there are a host of different things going on in this office, and at times that can be challenging and also exciting. To be honest, there are clearly areas I would like to accelerate. In today’s world of change, I feel a sense of urgency for us to be more proactive in shaping ourselves and to move forward with purpose and with true innovation in order to get to where we need to be. It’s not an emergency; it’s just an imperative to make progress. We are at the beginning stages of formulating our next five-year strategic plan — MUSC 2020. We are engaging literally thousands of people across the entire enterprise in the shaping of our new goals, and I am enthused about the direction in which we collectively see the MUSC enterprise going. We clearly are taking each of our three missions to another level.

photo by Anne Thompson, Digital Imaging

MUSC President Dr. David Cole, from left, chats with Dr. Sally Self, Candace Gillespie, Toni Jernigan and Jenny Reves at the Oct. 20 dedication of Bela’s Garden.

By Mikie Hayes Public Relations

W

ith six months as president of the Medical University under his belt and facing a new year filled with possibilities, it felt like an opportune time to ask President David Cole, M.D., FACS, a few off-the-cuff questions about his time and progress in the organization’s highest leadership position. It was the last day before Christmas vacation began. Charleston was a chilly 45 degrees, and Bee Street was inches deep in rainwater. While the weather was miserable and the sky gloomy, Cole’s spirits weren’t dampened in the least. It was his last official meeting of 2014, and his wife, Kathy, and three children, Paige, Andy and Bryan, were home for the holidays. He was excited to spend quality time with his family, while preparing to kick off the new year at an aggressive pace. You assumed the role as president on July 1. How has it been?

I feel it’s been great. It has been uplifting for me to see how positive, embracing and supportive people have been both for the institution and for me. That support has been very reinforcing. It makes a difference. I believe that we’ve made very real progress since July. Of course there is still a lot more to do, but at least there is a sense of momentum and direction. With all of the talented and dedicated people that are engaged, I am confident in the direction we are heading. How has the family acclimated to your new role and the demands of the job? As with most any family of five, every day is an adventure. It is fair to say that we discussed in advance how becoming MUSC president might change the family somehow, but Kathy’s response was, “We are who we are!” Kathy is working hard — she’s a very giving person and that resonates with people. I am fortunate to have a very supportive immediate and extended family, and I don’t take that for granted.

What is causing that sense of urgency? At any given moment there are 20 different pressing issues that the world is not going to wait for us to address at our leisure. Pick one? Okay, here are four: at the moment, we need to move from strategic planning to strategic implementation as soon as we can. This affects our vital basic and translational research, our critical educational mission and

See President on page 6

MLK AwArd

3

Diversity director takes top honor for MUSC.

MUsC herO

6

A legend retires after 46 years.

2 DAISY Award 5 Meet Kim 10 Wellness T h e C ATA Ly s T O n L i n e President David Cole and MUSC first lady Kathy Cole talk with members at the Alpha Omega Alpha holiday reception on Dec. 8.

http:// www.musc. edu/ catalyst


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MUSC Catalyst 1-30-2015 by Cindy Abole - Issuu