Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Jeffrey S. Flier announced that Tina Poussaint, professor of radiology at Boston Children’s Hospital Boston was elected the next vice chair of the Faculty Council. He congratulated Poussaint and expressed his appreciation to Suan Pauker and Hope Ricciotti who also ran for the position.
Dean Flier reported that S. Jean Emans, chief of the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s, was named the first incumbent of the Mary Ellen Avery Professor of Pediatrics. Dean Flier commented that endowed professorships represent the highest honor that can be bestowed upon faculty members. He said that Avery joined the faculty in 1974 and served as the Thomas Morgan Rotch Professor of Pediatrics for more than 20 years and as chair of the Boston Children’s Department of Pediatrics from 1974 to 1985.
Dean Flier introduced Peter Howley to give a brief preview of a community values initiative at HMS that is about to be launched. He said that Howley has agreed to co-chair a program that will provide an opportunity for the HMS community to reflect on the values that we all share as members of the community.
Howley explained the goal of the HMS community values initiative is to engage the community in development of shared values embodying how we work together in pursuit of our mission; to develop a values statement to guide our collaborative efforts; to define what it means to be a member of our community; and to instill the values through orientation and training and promote a shared commitment. He added that the creation of the values statement is an opportunity for broad HMS community input, guided by a committee of students, staff and faculty.
Dean Flier introduced Melissa Brodrick, ombudsperson, to give the annual report for the Ombuds Office. Brodrick shared activity summaries and statistics from the past academic year. She gave a brief overview of the role of the Ombuds Office as a highly confidential, independent and informal forum in which any faculty, staff, student or trainee may raise concerns that may be affecting their work or studies. As a neutral party, Brodrick said that she helps visitors to clarify their issues and goals and to consider their options as they make choices for themselves about potential next steps.
Brodrick then provided the general demographics of those visiting the Ombuds Office and the kinds of issues that are self-reported: Career management (performance, evaluation, future prospects, departure and references), work/academic environment (peer relationships, supervisor/supervisee relationship, leadership, departmental functioning, physical conditions and workload), research (authorship, proprietorship, conflict of interest and professional misconduct) and prevention (general information, training, brochures and other information) were the most frequently self reported by visitors. The Ombuds Office saw more women than men and more faculty members followed by staff, trainees and students.
A general discussion followed.
Dean Flier introduced Provost Alan Garber, who was invited to discuss recent activities at the University and then to open up the meeting for a general discussion.
Provost Garber thanked Dean Flier and noted that he is a member of the Department of Health Care Policy and attempts to maintain his research interests in this area. He spoke briefly about the Provost Office’s role in merging the three Harvard art museums on the site of the Fogg Museum and remarked that the new building is a teaching museum. He encouraged all to visit and highlighted the current Rothko exhibit.
Provost Garber discussed academic initiatives and reported that the University views the new department of bioinformatics at HMS as an important development, in parallel with increasing interest in this area at the University and elsewhere. He then discussed what people call “big data” and what the needs are, including developing the skills to answer new questions. Provost Garber also spoke briefly about the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs and announced that Vice Provost Jorge Domínguez will be retiring this summer. He welcomed suggestions of candidates who might be considered for the position.
After opening the meeting for discussion, Provost Garber answered questions concerning what faculty could do to help facilitate further collaboration among HMS and the affiliated hospitals. He said that three task forces have been formed to address potential areas for collaboration including big data, use of facilities and streamlining business transactions across institutions. The membership on each committee includes representatives from the hospitals, HMS and the University.
Provost Garber discussed the upcoming external reviews of the life sciences across the University. Both Dean Flier and Provost Garber explained in brief the process and purpose of these reviews. Dean Flier said that HMS conducts department reviews on a regular basis but has not conducted a review of the basic sciences on the Quadrangle as an enterprise. Provost Garber added that the University review will build upon the HMS review and will consider the entire University to garner an external perspective on any issues and gaps. Lastly, Provost Garber answered questions concerning the University health benefits before Dean Flier adjourned the meeting.
