Endings and Beginnings
I will step down as dean this year, after 16 years in office, following eight years here at Emory as dermatology chair. During this time, I have watched—and have been proud to be part of—the transformation of a very good school into an outstanding one, great in accomplishments, great in heart.
I have had opportunities most deans could only dream of. Research buildings rose in rapid succession during the largest construction boom since the medical school joined Emory University in 1915. We were able simultaneously to design a new curriculum and new medical education building. Clinical and research partnerships have strengthened and allowed the school to grow and serve in unprecedented ways. In everything we did, we have had the support and vision of university and Woodruff Health Sciences Center leaders and of the Woodruff family of foundations and other generous donors.
As I pass the torch this fall, the school has never been stronger, never better positioned for future achievements. None of this would be true without our faculty. Having helped recruit and retain many of them is the thing of which I am most proud in my tenure as dean. Watching what they will achieve going forward will be my greatest joy as emeritus dean.
After a year's sabbatical, I will be back on campus, seeing more patients, teaching, working on some of the issues that face medical education. In other words, I will be faculty. I can't think of anything more exciting. With gratitude to all who have supported the school and me.
Thomas J. Lawley, MD
Dean, Emory University School of Medicine
Timmie Professor of Dermatology
