Dean Tolar Shares 2018 Mission & Vision for UMN Medical School

Colleagues,
Mission. Vision. We talk about these ideas in strategic planning. We write statements to describe them. But six months later, does anyone actually remember what they are?

To start 2018 with a clear view of who we are and what we will be working toward, here are statements to help all of us in the Medical School see the big picture.

Our mission is what we do. Our vision describes our ambitions for the future.

Our Medical School mission is:
To combine our scientific and clinical strengths to deliver the best in innovative, accountable, compassionate care to our patients and to impact the field of medicine for all.

Our mission is built on a foundation of five intertwined supports:

  • Patient Care – To advance patient care with evidence-based medicine, to create stable, equitable partnerships and to make outstanding care available throughout the state.
  • Research – To explore new frontiers in basic and clinical science with integrity, curiosity, and rigor, and to combine an entrepreneurial mindset with the goals of expanding knowledge and improving medical care.
  • Education – To invest the resources needed to support student and trainee achievement and wellbeing at the highest level, and to embrace diversity.
  • Community – To serve the state of Minnesota through education and to provide excellent healthcare as a fundamental human right.
  • Legacy – To use academic medicine as a link to the community, and to make the world a better, healthier place.

Our Medical School vision is:
To give the best of ourselves to create a Medical School where individuals thrive, collaborations elevate, and the best of medical practice, research and education combine to create a legacy of:

  • Excellently trained and compassionate physicians.
  • Scientists with the courage and expertise to pursue life-changing discoveries.
  • Minnesotans whose lives have been improved through the highest quality of medicine.

In sum: "Be kind. Pursue excellence. Make a difference."

Sincerely,

Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD
Dean of the Medical School, interim Vice President of the Health Sciences