MINUTES
FACULTY COUNCIL
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
March 8, 2010 – 4:30 p.m., T-501
Voting Members Present:
Joseph Carter (Chair) – Department of
Otolaryngology (MH)
Jerry Goldstone – Department of Surgery
(UH)
Richard Wilson – Department of Physical
Med/Rehab (MH)
Deepak Kumar – Department of Pediatrics
Allison Gilmore – Department of
Orthopedics
Matthias Buck – Department of
Physiology/Biophysics
Youwei Zhang- Department of
Pharmacology
Ashley Faux – Department of Medicine
(UH)
Wenquan Zou – Department of Pathology
(At-Large)
Vincent Monnier – Department of
Pathology
Jill Barnholtz-Sloan – Department of
General Medical Sciences
Donna Hansel – Department of Pathology
(CCLCM)
Thomas Swales – Department of Psychiatry
(MH)
Bram Kaufman – Department of Surgery
(MH)
Pranab Mukhrejee – Department of
Dermatology
*Susan Stagno – Department of Psychiatry
(UH)
*Skyler Kaladay – Department of Pediatrics
(CCLCM)
*Mark Smith – Department of Pathology
*William Todia – Department of OB/Gyn
(MH)
*David Kaebler – Department of Medicine
*Lydia Furman – Department of Pediatrics
(UH)
*Susan Stagno – Department of Psychiatry
(UH)
*Rod Rezaee – Department of
Otolaryngology (UH)
Non-Voting Members Present:
Brent Cameron – MSTP Student
Others Present:
Dan Anker – Associate Dean for Faculty
Affairs and Human Resources
Preston Pugh – Secretary to Faculty Council
*Excused Absence
Guest(s):
Tom Nosek – Director, Physiology and Biophysics Graduate Program
Carol Liedtke – Chair, Admission Committee
Robert Miller – Vice Dean for Research
______________________________________________________________________________
A)
Joseph Carter, chair of Faculty Council, opened the meeting promptly at 4:30pm. Minutes
from the previous meeting were approved as written.
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B)
Robert Miller, Vice Dean for Research, discussed the purpose of this committee. The
committee is comprised of elected and appointed members from both the clinical and basic
science departments of the medical school. These members are engaged primarily in research.
Recent meetings have dealt with the Biomedical Engineering (BME) as a department in both the
School of Medicine and the School of Engineering. Issues have been resolved and are in process
with each new faculty member in BME would be designated at the time of initial appointment as
principally based in either the School of Engineering or the School of Medicine with the
appropriate school’s standards applying.
Dr. Miller told the Council that the Research Committee continues to discuss and make
recommendations to the Dean regarding graduate education funding.
A Systems Biology and Bioinformatics program has been proposed by Mark Chance. This
program would increase the importance to Biology and Medicine. As opposed to the
reductionist approach the in the past 50 years has identified individual pieces of biological
systems, this new science attempts to understand the integration of these pieces into networks,
complexes and the biological organizations critical to cellular and organism functions. Few
institutions have such a innovative and diverse program.
Dr. Miller told Council that a current focus of the Research Committee is to review the SOM
Cores and Centers. There was a sense that we needed to define what Cores and Centers we want
and to define characteristics of what works well. Many of them here are fragmented. Some of
them needed and others that are not.
In response to questions, Dr. Miller Council discussed those concerns of Cores and Centers and
an issue was raised regarding the necessity to review the demand for Cores. In some
departments, there has been an increase in volume and some of the Cores seemed overwhelmed
by the extra work. One particular issued brought forth is that outside institutions and companies
offer the same, but cheaper and faster services than some of the cores can deliver. A Council
member suggested that the Faculty be surveyed to examine its uses and needs.
Dr. Miller noted that The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Case Center for
Imaging Research, and other Cores have been recognized by Ohio's Centers of Excellence in
Biomedicine and Health Care. This has helped build stronger connections in the community
including projects with Swagelok. Dr. Miller stated that larger Cores seem they way of the future
rather than smaller ones.
Continued discussion led to the School of Medicine strategic plans. Dr. Miller told Council that
there have been a number of strong recruitments over that past few years and doing as well as
one could anticipate. However, there is a need to revive strategic plans for both the University
and the School of Medicine. Dr. Miller reiterated that the overall issues revolving around
graduate students are still a work in progress. One of the main issues is still how to get a larger
number of graduate students in the School of Medicine and how to fund them. Other schools
seem to do a better job at accomplishing this, but the Dean is committed to working out some
type of solution. One suggestion has been to allocate some of the Dean’s funds to this issue.
However, the question becomes should the dean be responsible for such a huge cost (1-2 million
est.) and is the best use of that resource. Dr. Miller continued to note that the school is making
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great strides including new recruitments, training grants, and our research programs are getting
stronger.
An issue was raised by a Council member concerning curtailing of research support of tenured
faculty in the process of renewing their NIH grants. In particular, issuing of letters of termination
to people working in close relationship with senior faculty might result in immediate savings but
huge long-term losses if the tenured faculty member is unable to renew his/her grant as a
consequence. The Council member recommends that departmental chairs work with their faculty
toward supporting their research endeavors to avoid long-term funding problems.
Dr. Miller gave details of a Bridge Funding Program. The program allows funds from the Dean
to be given when there is a gap in between grants. Faculty can apply for this through me (Dr.
Miller). It is a rolling review with about a month to receive and answer. So far, 15-20 faculty
have used it and has worked well thus far.
C)
Tom Nosek, Director of Graduate Education (Physiology and Biophysics), presented a
proposed MS in Medical Physiology program. The program proposal had been previously
reviewed, following the usual School of Medicine process, by an ad hoc committee composed of
graduate program directors, members of the Faculty Senate Graduate Studies Committee, and
the Faculty Council Steering Committee. The Master’s Program in Medical Physiology is
designed for students with a bachelor’s degree who are seeking advanced training in the
physiological sciences, typically in preparation for admission to a professional medical program
(e.g. Medical School, Dental School). The program is flexible in duration.
Dr. Nosek explained that the program can take as little as 1 year (2 semesters, 9 months)
to complete the required 30 credit hours of course work. However, students who wish to
decompress the program can take 14 months or more to complete the requirements. Core courses
and flexible electives allow students to focus their work in key areas of medical physiology,
including Anatomy, Biochemistry, or Pharmacology. Graduates of the Medical Physiology
Master’s Program also can pursue careers in basic and clinical research, research administration,
teaching or management in academia, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, private
research institutions, government science or regulatory agencies, or medicine and health care.
Thus, in addition, to providing a pathway to medical and dental school, the proposed program
would offer an important economic advantage for Northeast Ohio by training a pool of
individuals constituting a highly educated work force, which in turn would retain and attract
biomedical industry.
Students will earn a plan B type MS from Case Western Reserve University. The core of
this degree is 18 hours of course work in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics: 2, 6 hour
courses in Medical Physiology, 2, 2 hour courses in Translational Physiology, and 2, 1 hour
Physiology Seminar courses. The Medical Physiology courses will be conducted as lecture
courses. The Translational Physiology course will be conducted as a combination of both lectures
and clinical paper discussions. The Physiology Seminar will require students to attend the
weekly physiology seminar followed by a discussion session where a recent paper by the seminar
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speaker will be discussed. The remaining hours required for graduation are flexible, taking into
account each student’s unique background and career plans. To successfully complete the
program, students must pass a comprehensive examination after all coursework has been
successfully completed for a Plan B type master’s degree. The examination will be in the form of
a written paper (at least 10 – 20 pages long) where the student will be given the opportunity to
display their understanding of physiology and other biophysical sciences that they have studied
during the program. This program will complement the plan A type MS that the department
currently offers for students preparing for a career in laboratory research.
Continued discussion by Council members led to finding that the proposed program has
merit and will be beneficial for the school and those students who would be interested in applying to
the program. According, the Council and voted unanimously to recommend approval of the
program.
D)
Carol Liedtke, Chair of the Admissions Committee, presented the annual report to
Faculty Council. Dr. Liedtke presented extensive written materials summarizing admissions
data. The Admissions Committee met 12 times during this academic year. The Admissions
Committee also reviewed and approved the admissions decisions from the MSTP Steering
Committee and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) Admissions
Committee. This year, we were asked to compose a class of 199 (152 for the University Program,
32 CCLCM, and 15 for MSTP). 924 interviews were conducted from 5,107 applications for the
University Program (UP). We continue to have difficulty in finding enough qualified
interviewers, but are very grateful to our current interview committee who devote much energy
and time to our process. The 2009-2010 total applicant pool for the University Program was 5,107,
reflecting a 5% increase from 2008-2009. Nationally, medical school applications increased by
only 0.09% compared to the previous year. Our secondary application completion rate for the UP
achieved the highest rate seen in recent years at 77% (3,948 of 5,107). To date, the Committee has
offered acceptances for the University Program to 378 applicants (including 2 deferred students
from and 08-09) to achieve a class of 152. We experienced a higher rate of attrition last year
largely due to financial determinants. Some applicants that withdrew stated they truly desired to
come to Case but were financially obligated to choose another school with a lower cost of
attendance.
Dr. Liedtke stated that we (SOM) continue to participate in the AAMC’s Criminal Background
Check program for accepted applicants. The background checks are conducted by a third party
contracted by the AAMC. The entire process is electronic and the turnaround time on a CBC is
approximately 3 days. The process is very efficient. To date, no significant violations or findings
have been discovered by the background check on our incoming students. Dr. Liedtke continued
to state that the goal of the Admissions Committee is to recruit exceptionally talented students
from across the country through targeted recruitment trips by Dr. Mehta and Mr. Essman. Last
year, our visits to college campuses were somewhat limited due to budget restrictions. Despite
these limitations, we were able to visit Yale University, Columbia University, Harvard
University, University of Los Angeles-California, University of California-Irvine, Case Western
Reserve University, and Kent State University. We are scheduled to visit University of Michigan
and Emory University later this spring and are considering other opportunities at the University
of Alabama, Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago.
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Dr. Mehta has been integral for acquiring and creating a new scholarship for a Health Professions
Pipeline Program (H3P) for minority students. On February 24 th, the Joan C. Edwards Charitable
Foundation announced it will make a significant investment in the city of Cleveland to create a
medical education pipeline for students from traditionally underrepresented minorities and lowincome backgrounds. The first phase of the Joan C. Edwards Charitable Foundation’s Health
Profession Pipeline Program (H3P) is the creation of the Edwards Scholarship Endowment at
Case Western Reserve University. An initial investment of $10 to $12 million over 10 years will
establish an endowment for full-tuition scholarships for students to earn bachelor and medical
degrees at Case Western Reserve.
The Admissions Office continues to operate a nearly paperless system. This year we used the
letters of recommendation service provided by AMCAS. AMCAS collects and uploads all letters
of recommendation and makes them available through the electronic application. There is no
charge to medical schools for this service. This new service made reviewing applications even
easier since reviewers did not have to use VPN to review the letters of recommendation.
Dr. Liedtke concluded her presentation by asking for more faculty to become involved as faculty
interviewers. Training sessions will take place in August. Please let Dr. Liedtke know if you are
interested.
E)
Joseph Carter informed Council that a meeting with the Dean has been scheduled for
March 18, 2010. The meeting will discuss proposed changes to the structure of Faculty Council
and also give the Dean an opportunity to express her thoughts. Others in attendance are Nora
Lindheim and Mark Smith.
F)
Dan Anker told Council that Faculty Senate elections are still open and please vote by
March 10, 2010. Dr. Anker also informed Council of the “How to Maximize Your Chances of
Being Promoted” program scheduled for April 8, 2010. This program is sponsored by the SOM
Faculty Affairs Office and the Women Faculty of the School of Medicine.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Preston Pugh - Faculty Secretary
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