Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., speaks at last week's School of Medicine Spring Faculty Meeting. (photo by Anne Rayner)
Achievements outlined at VUSM Spring Faculty Meeting
Vanderbilt’s navigation through “extraordinary” economic pressures reflects its careful financial management and strategic planning, its innovative approach to health care delivery, and its growing reputation in research and medical education, said Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, during last week’s Spring Faculty Meeting.
Balser said efforts under way to reduce Medical Center expenses by $50 million in the next fiscal year are necessary “if we’re going to continue to do the things that are important to us: educate students, recruit the very best faculty … and even though it is tough, we’re succeeding,” he said.
During the past year, for example, Vanderbilt was the only academic medical center named to both Thompson Reuters Top Hospitals list and U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals “Honor Roll.”
Meanwhile, applications to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have increased by 45 percent since 2001, compared to 10 percent nationally. In terms of grants received from the National Institutes of Health, “the actual performance of this research enterprise is stunning,” Balser added.
Tuition at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine will increase 3 percent next year, but “we will still be well below the tuition levels of the peer schools we’re competing against for students,” said Balser.
Also during the meeting, the 2012 Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research were presented. To read about the honorees, go here.
To view a video presentation of the 2012 Spring Faculty Meeting, go to: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/myvumc/?article=12354.