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Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell and CWRU has
announced the creation of the Center for Science, Health and Society,
a significant new collaboration in which CWRU will provide a conduit
for the city and its residents to shape components of the area's
health care delivery system through community outreach, health
education and health policy.
photo by Mike Sands
Former School of Medicine Dean Nathan
Berger, President-designate Edward Hundert, Cleveland Mayor
Jane Campbell and Interim President James Wagner discuss
the new Center for Health, Science and Society. Berger will
head the new center.
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"This new center demonstrates a higher level
of partnership between the city of Cleveland and Case Western
Reserve University," said James W. Wagner, CWRU interim president,
who, along with incoming President Edward M. Hundert joined Campbell
in making the announcement.
"While our School of Medicine already collaborates
with several community agencies to help improve the health of
Cleveland-area residents, this is the first partnership with direct
ties to the city itself," Wagner added.
The city of Cleveland, currently conducting
a search for a new public health commissioner, is working with
the University to create a "Partnership for a Healthy Cleveland."
This collaboration would bring the city's department of public
health to the CWRU campus with the new commissioner also serving
as a member of the School of Medicine faculty as well as provide
the community with more and better access to CWRU resources.
Nathan A. Berger, current dean of CWRU's School of Medicine,
will serve as director of the new Center for Science, Health and
Society. According to Berger, the new center will focus on what
he calls "The Four E's:"
- Engage the community by keeping them abreast of exciting
new developments and opportunities in science and health care.
- Excite the community with opportunities to improve
their own health status and to inform them about career opportunities
in health science and health care delivery.
- Educate the community about the availability and accessibility
of health care resources to become more knowledgeable consumers.
- Empower the community to lead healthier lifestyles,
pursue careers in biomedical research and healthcare delivery,
and to become better informed advocates for policy development.
"I'm looking forward to my new role at
Case Western Reserve University, as well as serving the citizens
of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio," Berger said. "The Center for
Health, Science and Society is an exciting opportunity for me
and the university to tackle significant health issues on several
fronts."
Wagner and Hundert also announced that Jerold
Goldberg, dean of CWRU's School of Dentistry, will serve as interim
dean of the medical school effective July 1. University Vice Provost
Lynn T. Singer also will serve as interim vice president for medical
affairs while a national search is conducted for a successor who
will, once again, serve in both capacities, as Berger did.
"I'm delighted that Nate Berger has agreed
to serve as director of the new center," Wagner said. "This represents
a new and exciting opportunity for him to apply his leadership
skills and vast medical knowledge to the important work of the
center. Nate has devoted his career to medical education and research
and I know he will bring the same commitment to his new position."
Berger became dean of the CWRU School of
Medicine in 1995 following 10 years as the founding director of
the Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals of Cleveland.
During his tenure as dean, the medical school has achieved new
levels of accomplishments, including, most recently, receiving
the highest marks possible from the Liaison Committee on Medical
Education in its latest accreditation report.
He also spearheaded a recent major curriculum
revision initiative which resulted in strengthening the CWRU organ
systems approach to medical education by further integrating basic
and clinical science and introducing important thematic components
of genetic and preventive medicine. He also led the development
and introduction of an innovative computer-based electronic curriculum-the
"eCurriculum"-at all levels of medical education and evaluation.
Several pioneering dual degree programs
were established under Berger's leadership, including those allowing
CWRU medical students to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering
through the Physician-Engineer Training Program, health services
research, or a master's degree in public health or bioethics while
working toward a medical degree.
Construction of the Wood Research Tower
is underway, with the last beam being placed last month. The tower
will add 50,000 square feet of state-of-the-art space to the medical
school, primarily for research laboratories, "solidifying Nate's
commitment to generating the development and commercialization
of research to create tomorrow's medical discoveries," Wagner
said. Currently, the CWRU School of Medicine ranks 14th among
the nation's medical schools with $174 million in research funding
from the National Institutes of Health.
Berger launched a new capital campaign,
the Campaign for the Future of Academic Medicine, in October 1999.
Due to his leadership, three-fourths of the $300 million goal
has already been realized, and the campaign is not scheduled to
conclude until June 2006.
Theodore J. Castele, a member of the CWRU
Board of Trustees and chair of the Campaign for the Future of
Academic Medicine, had high praise for Berger.
"He is as fine a dean as I've ever seen,"
said Castele. "Under his leadership, we have taken the development
function of the medical school to new heights. His leadership
qualities are among the reasons he has been chosen for this new
opportunity."
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