–         Ray Kroc

May 3, 2013

Dear Colleagues and Friends

“Wow” hardly seems adequate this week. What a historical, transformational week we have had here at the state’s only public medical school!  We hope you’ve heard by now but just in case: We received a $66 million gift from the late Dr. J. Harold Harrison, a distinguished vascular surgeon and 1948 MCG graduate who loved his medical school and never forgot the opportunities it helped provide to him! Dr. Harrison said more than once that hard work was all it took for MCG to open its arms to him. How incredibly Dr. Harrison and his dear wife Sue have opened their hearts to us. This magnanimous gift will be used to support student scholarship, ensuring that finances don’t stand in the way of other great students coming to MCG, and will help ensure they get an great education when they arrive by also supporting endowed chairs for faculty. This incredible sum could not have come at a better time as we celebrate our 185th anniversary and embark on a strategic planning process for our college. Again, wow. This is truly inspirational, challenging each of us to step up our game, to give even more of ourselves, to recognize the impact we are privileged to impart and to truly rock!  Follow this link to read about all the details of this EXCEPTIONAL gift– http://bit.ly/Zn3Fpa

Cheers to our faculty and residents honored this week as the best of our best during the annual Faculty Awards meeting. We are appreciative of your hard work in education, research and patient care that ensures a great educational environment for our residents, fellows, and medical students. Certainly the Department of Surgery had an exceptional showing: Dr. Jack Yu received the Outstanding Faculty Award, Dr. Ronald Lewis the Lifetime Achievement Award, fifth-year general surgery resident Dr. David Hardy is Resident of the Year, and Dr. Zach Klaassen and Dr. Manny Palaios were inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Felicitations to all! Please follow this link to celebrate other awardees: http://news.gru.edu/archives/8610

Brilliant news for one of our promising medical students, Karen Kagha, Class of 2016, who has been awarded the 2013 AΩA Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides $5,000 to support her studies of “The Regulation of Aquaporin 3 Expression.” We are proud of all of our medical student’s achievements as they work to become leading physicians in the medical field. Go here to learn more about Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society–http://www.alphaomegaalpha.org

A fantastic gift of $550 was raised by first- and second-year medical students in the Health Equity and Access Leaders Program for the Neighborhood Project Incorporated, also known as the Medical Associates Plus at Belle-Terrace Health and Wellness Center during their Penny-War. Thank you students for your contribution to the care of the medically under-served. To view the WJBF-TV story go here– http://bit.ly/11Z3FMq

The Southwest Campus this week honored members of the Class of 2013 for their accomplishments. In addition to presentations made by class members, awards were given to the Most Outstanding Clinical Faculty member as well as the medical student who displayed excellence in clinical skills. Fourth-year medical student Andrew White received the Medical Student Award for Excellence in Clinical Skills. Congratulations Andrew on a job well done! Dr. Phillip Allen of Albany ENT received the faculty award for his outstanding clinical education. Thank you so much Dr. Allen for your service. We simply could not educate the next generation of physicians without our volunteer faculty. If you are interested in more details, go here–  http://bit.ly/12UMuyA

Last week we welcomed the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce which chose to meet on our campus for the first time in over 10 years. The meeting, led by Dr. Sam Robinson, was about identifying the physician workforce needs of Georgia communities then meeting those needs through the support and development of medical education programs like those here at MCG. It went wonderfully. Thanks to Ms. Cherri Tucker, executive director, for her leadership in this important endeavor. Many thanks also to David Hefner, who gave a terrific presentation on the Affordable Healthcare Act. Finally, we send our thanks to Jeanette Balotin and Meg Fisher for their coordination of the event. To learn more about GBPW go here– http://gbpw.georgia.gov/.

The Medical College of Georgia Foundation recently hosted an Executive Boardroom Dedication & Portrait Unveiling of Dr. William E. Mayher III, a prominent neurosurgeon, board member of MCG Foundation, and great alumnus in Albany. His portrait was painted by Georgia Regents University Emeritus Associate Professor of Medical Illustration David Mascaro. The painting honors Dr. Mayher’s illustrious 28-year career in medicine. Dr. Mayher and his wife have given remarkably to us and we are very appreciative of their contributions here as well as his contributions to the field. We were thrilled with the large turnout for this incredible event. Also, many thanks to Dr. Cecil F. Whitaker Jr. for his wonderful remarks at the unveiling. Drs. Mayher and Whitaker are outstanding alumni. We are fortunate to have their leadership and support.

Making yet another international connection for research, Dr. Ganapathy will join Dr. Sathisha J. Gonchigar, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry from Kuvempu University in India to study the role of an amino acid transporter and its association with cancer. The University Grants Commission in India will support the one-year research training mentorship. They begin their research sometime in July or August. Thank you Dr. Ganapathy for your diligence in broadening horizons in research and opening your doors to building international friendships. Certainly no surprise you were sought out on this important topic of how things move around the body! Follow this link to learn more about the UGC– http://www.ugc.ac.lk/ and here to learn more about Dr. Gonchigar–http://bit.ly/15ZLXiI

Recently, the 48th Primary Care and Family Medicine Symposium was held in Augusta. The conference was very useful for our physicians because of its comprehensive style in covering the broad spectrum of care provided by family medicine physicians and other primary care providers. Thanks to Dr. Laura L. Mulloy and Dr. Allen L. Pelletier for their leadership in coordinating the event and to the many faculty who gave great presentations. Follow this link to learn more about the conference — http://bit.ly/16oaiyH

May 4 – Put your walking shoes on and come to join our medical students for the 2013 March of Dimes Walk for Babies at Lake Olmstead Park at 9 a.m. Saturday To register go here– http://bit.ly/ZroYIMand the events page here–http://bit.ly/Zs06AN

May 5 – Calling all GRU faculty, if you like Cinco de Mayo, come out to join your fellow faculty members to celebrate the end of the semester. The event begins at 5 p.m. at Mi Rancho on Washington Road. Click here to learn more –http://bit.ly/grufc

May 6 – Save this date, too! Please come to congratulate our colleagues at the Annual Spring Faculty Assembly from 5:30-7:30 p.m., room 1222, Health Sciences Building.

May 8– Mark your calendar for the Presidential Research Lecture Series from May 7 to 9. Dr. John E. Nestler from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine will speak on “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Metabolic Disorder for the Internist,” for the Medical Grand Rounds in Lee Auditorium on May 7 at noon in the Lee Auditorium. Additionally, There will be a lunch on May 8 at noon in the President’s Conference Room, AA302. Please contact Pricilla Lightfoot atplightfoot@gru.edu if you plan to attend. We will join Dr. Nestler for a second talk on May 8 at 7:30 p.m. for OBGYN Grand Rounds in the Surgical Amphitheater, B14081 for a talk on “PCOS Through Menopause and Beyond: Screening for Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.”

May 9 – MCG Hooding begins at 2 p.m. in the Bell Auditorium.

May 10 – Medical College of Georgia at GRU will graduate 200 medical students at 2 p.m. at the James Brown Arena.

May 13 – The Office of Diversity Affairs is set to host a special presentation by Dr. Geoffrey Young, Senior Director for Student Affairs and Programs for the Association of American Medical Colleges. The presentation, Student Mental Health, will be held at 12:15 p.m. in room EC 1211 in the Health Sciences Building on the Health Sciences Campus. Lunch will be provided. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Angela Scott at ascott@gru.edu by Monday, May 6.

May 16 – The GR Medical Associates Membership meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Alumni Center. Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m. before the meeting and the agenda and committee reports will be distributed prior to the meeting.

May 24 – Summit on Global Health, hosted by the Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology, May 24-27, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Seehttp://bit.ly/YJasZD

June 13 – MCG Chair Investiture Ceremony, starts at 5 p.m. in the Lee Auditorium.

Have you checked out our new MCG Facebook page at www.facebook.com/grumcg? We’re also on Twitter #Follow.

Enjoy the weekend