Spring is Here

Dear members of the Feinberg School of Medicine Community, 

Have you been in Chicago for at least a full calendar year? 

If so, you know this: In Chicago, we don’t take a change of seasons lightly. Our seasonal changes are bold, sometimes abrupt, and once winter is clearly over (We do remember snow in April, right?), we immerse in the reawakening of sparing.  

With this newsletter we embrace a new season of hope, bright sun and uplifted spirits. Spring also brings, for many of us, the close to medical school, graduate school or health professional school education. Congratulations to all!  

 We are fortunate to work, study, explore and refine our skills and profession in an environment that welcomes the core principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI): diversity of thought, equitable opportunity and inclusive excellence. Innumerable business models—and now medical paradigms—endorse these core principles as pathways forward and as platforms of excellence. Regardless of the nomenclature and the acronym “DEI,” the principles remain inviolate and reflect attributes that define humanity. There are forces at play intent on muting this moment of DEI, but the principles of equity and excellence are inexpungible and will prevail. It is the arc of humankind and is the very basis of our success as a species. 

We are an extraordinary academic medical center in part because we welcome contributions sourced from our entire community, we host all voices, and we reject sameness, conformity and narrow thinking. I like to think of it as a wide aperture leading to a precise objective then deft implementation. There is no excitement in repetition of usual practice, but there is enthusiasm in the elevation of new ideas and the inculcation of diverse thoughts. 

For those of you graduating in the healthcare domain, you are entering a seemingly uncertain environment given the tensions and exigences impacting health and healthcare while also starting out in one of the most rewarding disciplines: life science. We are privileged to pursue our life’s work but also sobered by its importance. Our space within the life science field echoes the larger tensions in everyday life—for every opportunity, there is an obstacle; for every discovery, a disappointment; for every life saved, there may be a life lost. We can only go forward guided by the inviolate guideposts of our work; pillars of ethics that supersede politics; and respect for the only bar set—the very best we have to offer.