Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., kicked off the meeting at the Lois Pope LIFE Center auditorium by listing about a dozen major highlights for the past fiscal year. He said the accomplishments were testaments that the medical school's faculty members are truly some of the best physicians, researchers and educators in academic medicine anywhere.

The Miller School milestones are even more significant, Dean Goldschmidt said, because they were achieved in "a tough but good year." Among them: The School entering the Top 50 medical schools nationally according to U.S. News & World Report rankings; placing 32nd in the country based on National Institutes of Health stimulus grant funding; gaining another eight-year reaccreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; faculty publishing papers in some of the most prestigious journals; and running a successful physician practice while extending unsurpassed care to patients within the UHealth System, at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and in underserved communities.

"I know what it takes to bring success to a medical school and I know that in many ways this success is your work being recognized by your peers and agencies that look at medical schools in various ways," Goldschmidt said. "But what sets us apart in our accomplishments is that we have also given so much back to our community this year by taking care of people who have nowhere else to get care ... including saving thousands of lives in Haiti after the earthquake."

In singling out Jackson, the county's safety net hospital, Goldschmidt said the work Miller School faculty conduct there every day is "a major contribution to health care in South Florida, despite the economics or politics of any given time."

President Donna E. Shalala reiterated the University's commitment to Jackson and detailed how the Miller School and Jackson are diligently working together on critical issues for the betterment of patients and the community. That partnership will bring additional benefits to both institutions when health care reform comes into play and there are many more people with insurance who are "going to be much more mobile" in finding health care.

"Many of our patients are going to have better health insurance than they have ever had in their lives," Shalala told the faculty. "And they are going to be very attractive to other hospitals. ... We have three years to get ready for that with our colleagues at Jackson and all the other hospitals that we own. We want to keep every patient."

In his talk Provost Thomas LeBlanc gave an overview of the University and mentioned achievements such as the six-year 80 percent graduation rate at the undergraduate level and the institution's ability to maintain its attractiveness to students from all over the world. He singled out the Miller School and reiterated that the medical campus played a significant role in the University's success and its long-term pursuits for high national prominence.

Faculty members, who participated in a lively question-and-answer session, said they are equally committed to helping the Miller School and the rest of the University succeed. Faculty not present were able to watch the proceedings via live webcast.