FACULTY ASSEMBLY
September 24, 2007

I. Dr. Goldstein, Chair of the Executive Committee, opened the meeting at 5:10 p.m. in Ross 101, for Dr. Williams who was called away on an emergency. He extended a warm welcome to the new faculty and asked that reports be kept brief, to give more time to celebrate the new faculty.

II. The minutes of the meeting of March 5, 2007, were approved as distributed.

III. Senate and Executive Committee Annual Report: Lists of activity for the Senate and Executive Committee meetings of 2006-07 were distributed with the agenda. There were no questions.

IV. Action Items:  None

V. Information Items

A. Medical School Entering Class and USMLE Results: Dr. Scott reported 13,273 applications for admission last year, the third year of the last four that the School has been ahead of all other schools, and the largest number of applications it has ever had. He added that it took 301 students to fill a class of 177, for a 59% yield, vs. a 34% yield in 2000.

In USMLE scores, Dr. Scott reported that 95% of our students passed Step 1 on the first attempt, vs. a national average last year of 93%; the mean score was 219, vs. a national average last year of 218. He reported that pass rate for the clinical knowledge portion of Step 2 was 95%, and for clinical skills it was 97%. He gave credit to many for these impressive performances.

B.   School of Public Health and Health Services [SPHHS] Entering Class: For Dean Katz, Dr. Hunting reported that the SPHHS also had the largest number of applicants in its history, and used a centralized application service for the first time. She reported 45 new undergraduate students and 305 new graduate students, of whom 27% are in Global Health, 27% in Prevention and Community Health, and 17% in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She noted a continuing trend in the growth of the proportion of students coming from outside this region, to two-thirds, as a result of the School’s growing reputation nationally and internationally.

C. Health Sciences Entering Class: Dean Johnson reported that at 1473 applications, the Health Sciences also experienced its largest number ever, of which 1243 are graduate students. Of the undergraduate students, she stated that 60% accepted, of which 75% matriculated; of the graduate students, 40% accepted of which 81% matriculated. She reported 514 new graduate and undergraduate students for a total of 919 students, 70% female and 30% male, and she noted that the PA program is also now mostly female. She demonstrated that female population is generally greater than male, and in the PA program it is now mostly female. She reported a variable age range, from 26 in PA and 23 in PT, to 56 in End-of-Life and 45 in DrNP.

D. Institute for Biomedical Sciences [IBS] Entering Class: Dr. Werling reported 219 applicants for Fall 2007, of which 10 offers were made to fill 8 seats in the regular GW program; for the partnership program with NIH, 8 offers were made to fill 3 seats. She stated that average GPA scores for GWU alone were 3.34: GRE’s V 68.1%ile, Q 67.8%ile, and A/W 65.8%ile; average GPA for NIH program students was 3.5; GRE’s V 75.7%ile, Q 68%ile, A/W 50.3%ile.

VI.  Administrative Announcements

A. Medical Center Report: For Dr. Williams, Dr. Scott reported that the biggest news is the University’s new president, Dr. Steven Knapp, who started August 1. He described Dr. Knapp as an esteemed English scholar and professor who was Provost of Johns Hopkins for 16 years; a thoughtful person who he predicts will be a great leader for the institution. He stated that inauguration activities will be November 13-16, with one day devoted to research (not to be confused with the Medical Center’s Research Day on March 12, at which Harold Varmus will be speaker). He added that the main inaugural event will be the Installation on the 16th, for which he encouraged high faculty participation.

Dr. Scott reported that, as noted in recent town meetings, Payette Associates envisions expansion through a new seven-story building above Himmelfarb and into the courtyard, and a new building on the Warwick site, and is holding preliminary discussions for a cancer center.

B. SMHS: Dr. Scott announced two new department chairs: Dr. Robert Hawley, whose department is now named Anatomy and Regenerative Biology; and Dr. Craig Geist, Ophthalmology. He added that the Pathology Search is in its final stages. He reported that departmental reviews in Biochemistry and Surgery are both complete and will be discussed with departments.

C.SPHHS Report: Noting a significant growth in new faculty, Dr. Hunting further reported a major growth in research in the past year (FY 07), placing the SPHHS ahead of all other schools at the University in its rate of progress for that year. She reported a 21% increase in total expenditures, 98% increase in dollar amount awarded, and 36% increase in the number of sponsored projects. She noted one ongoing chair search in Exercise Science, and several ongoing faculty recruitments. She reported three new administrators: Dr. Anne Markus, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs; Dr. Marina Moses, Director of the MPH Practicum Program and the DrPH Program; and Dr. Sara Wilensky, Director of the Undergraduate Public Health Program. She announced the School’s re-accreditation site visit next week, and also a culminating 10th anniversary cocktail reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on the evening of November 5th.

D. Health Sciences: Dean Johnson announced Convocation on 9/27, in Ross 101, to which all are welcome. She reported upcoming accreditations of PA in November and of PT in February. She stated that the Department of Nursing Education, which admitted its first class of ten students in 2004, has already grown to 124 students; while the entering class for the DrNP,  which was to be 20 students, is 24 students. She stated that new program areas under consideration include a graduate program in quality improvement and patient safety, and a Bachelor’s in Nursing program. She gave special thanks to Dr. Dawson and Dr. Plack for their successes with the Departments of Nursing and of Health Care Sciences, respectively, and to Dr. Bocchino for the successes in the Department of Clinical Management and Leadership.

E. Research: Reporting for Dr. Hirshfield, Dr. Hu first congratulated several faculty who have received major grants or awards: Dr. Hawden, a new R01; Dr. Chiaramello, competitive renewal of an R01; Dr. Windsor, a new R01; Dr. McCaffrey, an NIH supplement to a MERIT award; Dr. Berg, a DOD Concept award; Dr. Taylor, a Robert Wood Johnson award; Dr. Mendelowitz, appointed to NIH study section on hypertension and microcirculation; and Dr. Patierno, three new awards: from NCI for an Oncogenomics of Cancer Disparities Center; from ACI to support two $30,000 pilot awards to young investigators for three years; and from Amgen to support the Community Cancer Control Campaign. She also reported on GW’s collaboration with six other institutions on the CTSA application; noted the continuing Faculty Research Seminars; and recalled the two upcoming Research Days, as mentioned by Dr. Scott: November 14, for the Inauguration; and March 12, themed sessions on “Frontiers of Applied Life Sciences.”

VII. Introduction of New Faculty: A list of new faculty by department was provided at the start of the meeting, as were packets of one-page information forms sent in by the new faculty. Dr. Goldstein introduced the respective Deans who asked Chairs to introduce their departments’ new faculty.

For the SPHHS, Chairs introduced new faculty in the Departments of Global Health, Health Policy, Prevention and Community Health, Exercise Science, and Environmental and Occupational Health.

For the SMHS, Chairs introduced new faculty in the Departments of Anatomy, Anesthesiology, Biochemistry, Clinical Management and Leadership, Emergency Medicine, Health Care Sciences, Microbiology/IM/TM, Neurological Surgery, Nursing Education, OB-GYN, Orthopaedics, Pathology, Pediatrics (including two new chiefs), and Pharmacology. There were also new faculty in Medicine, Neurology, Radiology, and Surgery.

Dr. Goldstein extended a warm and enthusiastic welcome, and the assembled responded with applause.

VIII. Brief Statements: None

IX. The meeting adjourned at 6:05 and was followed by a reception for the new faculty.

Jim Scott, M.D.
Secretary

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