An introduction from the Dean

In this watershed year, the School of Medicine experienced the satisfactions, excitement, and confidence in the future that faculty and students must have felt almost a century ago. Our forefathers were members of the Atlanta Medical College, who decided with the blessings of the Flexner Report to become part of the new Emory University rising on the outskirts of Atlanta.

Next chapter: Education: Creating the ideal physician>>

Main Menu

Printer friendly

E-mail to a Friend

Make a gift

The move took them out of borrowed space in ramshackle buildings downtown into two buildings of their own and promised them a modern hospital and clinic on site. An incredible amount of work lay ahead, but there was never a doubt that a new era had begun for the newly named Emory University School of Medicine. Now, in 2007, another new era starts—with its own transformations and promises.
     A new home. The new School of Medicine Building is a beacon to students, designed to enhance and celebrate outstanding teaching, a visible sign that Emory has never been more committed to medical education nor more determined to be a model for training physicians uniquely prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
     A new way of teaching. The building made possible the inauguration of a dramatic new curriculum. It teaches fundamentals of science within clinical settings and immerses students in clinical experiences from week one. A large number of our faculty participated in design of the new program, and I have never seen them more energized or excited.
     A new future for clinical care. Even as clinical care advances—with the opening of a new model-of-its-kind neurointensive care unit in Emory University Hospital, for example—we are breaking ground for a new outpatient complex. This is part of an ambitious plan to create a new model of patient- and family-centered care, to improve service and access across the board and integrate research with treatment to provide the best care available anywhere.
     Continuing growth in research. Immensely strengthened by new research facilities built over the past decade (more than 650,000 square feet of space, with more in the works), the school has reached new heights in funding and in new discoveries that translate to new ways of helping patients.
     I want to thank the extraordinary faculty who are leading us into this new era, for the benefit of our students, patients, city, state, and world community. We have indeed come home.

Thomas J. Lawley

Thomas J. Lawley, MD
Dean, Emory University School of Medicine