Founders

Founders is about the development of a new College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital, located 90 miles from the parent University campus. The goal was to examine the role of senior leaders, department chairs, division chiefs, senior faculty and administrators in this venture with a focus on their vision and goals and, upon reflection, their achievements. The book discusses the role of the “founders” in assessing leadership (deans, chairs, chiefs), recruitment of faculty (criteria, charge, interaction), and funding (no state funding and very limited university funds). These are issues being faced by other institutions (existing, new, expanding). Decisions made in each of these areas, proactive or by default, can have significant impact on the overall teaching, patient care, and research missions. It was interesting that different individuals viewed the same events with totally different viewpoints of what really happened; underscoring the importance of communication to encourage a common core of intent and outcome.