The Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 24.
College of Medicine student Omar Ashruf was sworn in as a student member of the Board of Trustees. Ashruf was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to a two-year term that runs June 30, 2023 through June 29, 2025.
The meeting began with nominations for Board chair and vice chair. E. Douglas Beach, Ph.D., the chief executive officer of the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, and Darrell McNair, M.B.A., president and chief executive officer of MVP Plastics, were both nominated and unanimously approved for chair and vice chair, respectively.
Janet Coon, special assistant to President John Langell, M.D., was nominated and approved as Board secretary.
Dr. Langell congratulated all and then proceeded with the President’s report.
In the report Dr. Langell mentioned that students in all Colleges were back and had been welcomed with a University-wide picnic as well as their respective white coat ceremonies (medicine and pharmacy). He added that the 2027 class consisted of 182 medicine students; 51 pharmacy students, and 68 graduate students [a number that gets higher each year].
Dr. Langell mentioned NEOMED’s accelerated improvement in the 2023 U.S. News and World Report rankings for Most Diverse Medical Schools to #41 [a 52% increase]. He anticipates it to be even better next year as a result of the work to achieve NEOMED’s mission, which supports the evidence that health care improves when providers are representative of the patients they served. While the University currently stands at 20% URM, Dr. Langell anticipates that the SCOTUS ruling could cause a reduction in the next enrollment cycle. However, it would only be slight as NEOMED has always looked holistically at grit and resiliency (which universities may still do via essays) as determining factors.
Dr. Langell talked about the importance of the recently announced Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative grant — a seven-year, $56.3 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. NEOMED is among seven equal partners — Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, University Hospitals, the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System and the University of Toledo are the others. He stated that any NEOMED-affiliated faculty could apply for funds. With the addition of two new partner institutions— University of Toledo and NEOMED —the collaborative becomes the CTSC of Northern Ohio.
He added that research funding at NEOMED this fiscal year has already exceeded $4 million.
Funding for the Bitonte College of Dentistry is also on a great trajectory. Dr. Langell stated that the amount needed to launch the College has been surpassed due to a combination of private, federal and state contributions.
Before introducing Cayman Pearsall, NEOMED Master of Foundation in Medicine graduate and current first-year College of Medicine student, Dr. Langell recognized members of the NEOMED community:
- Sebastían Díaz, Ph.D., J.D. — Press Club of Cleveland award for his reflection, titled “Our Culture, Our Community: Cuba.”
- Michael Appleman, M.A.Ed. — named one of the 30 for the Future by the Greater Akron Chamber.
- Feng Dong, M.D., Ph.D. — named M1 Teacher of the Year
- Marc D. Basson, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. — his first trustee meeting as College of Medicine dean;
- Sonja Harris-Haywood, M.D., — former associate dean, NEOMED College of Medicine, is now dean of the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine.
- Richard Kasmer, Pharm.D., J.D., — on his official retirement.
- Rick McQueen — for his nine years of service on the Board of Trustees.
Cayman Pearsall concluded with remarks about her experience at NEOMED. She discussed her appreciation for the MFM degree program, which combines graduate studies with medicine – classes that gave her one foot in each and helped her build confidence and ability through a mentoring system for which she now serves as a mentor herself. She added that diversity matters from addressing health care disparities to being seen in spaces where the underrepresented wouldn’t normally be.