Last word

By Michael F. Collins, Chancellor and Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences

Looking out across our campus these days—despite the temporary construction fence, the cacophony of construction and the beehive of activity—it’s gratifying to see that the new education and research building has now risen nine stories high along the western edge of the campus green, signaling yet another exciting expansion of UMass Chan. Slated to open in spring 2024, around the same time we will be welcoming back our alumni for the T.H. Chan School of Medicine's 50th annual reunion, this new research and learning space presents a natural opportunity to reflect on the unlikely trajectory of UMass Chan in its first half-century and to dream, perhaps, about what lies ahead in its second.

At this milestone, it is hard to resist the urge to remark on the fact that the UMass Chan of today would have been difficult to imagine by any of its founding leaders, the legislators whose votes made it possible or the first class of 16 medical school students who earned their degrees 50 years ago.

Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future gains. In so many ways, UMass Chan has emerged as the Massachusetts medical school, true to our founding mission to serve the people of the commonwealth by training exceptional, patient-centric physicians. Over time our mission has come to include a responsibility to train the next generation of nursing leaders and biomedical scientists, too. Our faculty is world-class and attracts more than $300 million annually in grant funding. UMass Chan is among the best in the United States for primary care education, near the top in licensing revenue among the nation’s universities and this year was named a top employer and one of the best places to work in Massachusetts.

No matter how impressive, however, the accolades fail to adequately capture our unique spirit. At UMass Chan, our approach is deliberately inclusive and innovative. We are collaborative and committed to driving change. On all counts, our purpose is progress. Progress for our students. Progress for our faculty and staff. And progress for the people near and far who will live healthier, happier and longer lives because of the discoveries, advancements and humanitarianism that emanate from our Worcester campus.

If we were to create a time capsule for our successors to open when UMass Chan celebrates its 100th Commencement, we certainly could collect some items to represent this era: a stethoscope, a pipette or a laptop, perhaps. But it would be the intangible qualities we collectively possess and prioritize—collaboration, inclusiveness, excellence, indefatigability—that I hope would be most mightily represented. The unique UMass Chan spirit is, I believe, what sets our academic community apart from all the rest.

With humility and optimism, those of us who have the privilege to be part of the UMass Chan of 2023 know this is an organization that is just getting started. Our potential to change the trajectory of lives while serving our communities is limitless. I have every confidence that over the course of the next 50 years, we shall do nothing less. Together. ■