Weill Cornell is pleased to announce the new Campaign for Education, an ambitious $50 million initiative devoted to bolstering its already distinguished reputation as a leader in medical education by enhancing its training of the next generation of physicians and scientists. As technological advances transform science and medicine and the healthcare industry continues to evolve, these new healthcare leaders will be empowered to tackle our 21st century health challenges, deliver the finest patient care and make groundbreaking research discoveries.
“We at Weill Cornell pride ourselves on providing exceptional medical education and training to our aspiring physicians and scientists, and our Campaign for Education will take Weill Cornell to the next level of excellence,” says Laurie H. Glimcher, M.D., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. “The campaign will support our extraordinary efforts to transform our curriculum and ensure that we shape the best doctors who are dedicated to improving the lives of patients.”
Three longtime supporters of the Medical College, Board of Overseers Vice Chair Jeffrey Feil (through the Feil Family Foundation), Overseer Sandy Ehrenkranz and the Louis and Rachel Rudin Foundation have already made generous gifts of $1 million or more to spearhead these efforts, establishing the Gertrude Feil Associate Deanship of Curricular Affairs, the Ehrenkranz Associate Deanship for Academic Affairs and the Louis and Rachel Rudin Foundation Education Scholar Award in Neurology, respectively.
“These donors are true pioneers and champions for our educational efforts,” says Chair of the Board Sandy Weill. “They understand how vital this initiative is – and we are grateful for their foresight.”
The heart of the Campaign for Education is Weill Cornell’s new curriculum, which was unveiled in August after a four-year design process. The curriculum transforms the paradigm of medical education by integrating basic science with clinical care, and focuses on a cross-disciplinary, thematic view of medicine. Classroom instruction has been shortened to a year and a half so that students can work in the clinic earlier, and it provides a six- to nine-month fl exible period during which students can devote their attention to a specific scholarly concentration. A longitudinal patient care experience, called LEAP, enables teams of students, with faculty guidance, to follow a panel of patients with chronic illnesses for all four years of their medical education. This program allows students to immediately apply what they are learning in the classroom to patient care.
In addition, Weill Cornell is utilizing modern teaching strategies to better reach the 21st century learner. A robust technology infrastructure will enable lectures to be digitized and archived in a meta-library so students and faculty can use time in the classroom for discussing clinical and biomedical problems.
“Medicine is hardly the same profession it was when I was training at Weill Cornell, and yet medical education up until now has largely remained the same,” says Richard P. Cohen , M.D., `75, Clinical Professor of Medicine and alumnus who is an Education Campaign Co-Chair. “It’s exciting to be a part of these transformative efforts and empower our newest doctors to lead the charge in patient care, biomedical research and medical education.”
Other key components of this campaign, which is part of the Driving Discoveries, Changing Lives campaign that Weill Cornell launched last year, include funding for faculty endowments, student scholarships and capital improvements to the Weill Education Center. It will also provide faculty, who play a crucial role in training the next generation of physicians and scientists, with tools and resources to become even better teachers.
“Weill Cornell has long been a driver of excellence in medical education, and the Campaign for Education will ensure that we remain at the vanguard,” says Mr. Ehrenkranz, an Education Campaign Co-Chair. “I can think of no better investment than supporting our faculty and students.”
