Her Inspiration: Measles
A few facts stand out about Kelsey Martin, new medical dean at the University of California at Los Angeles: She majored in literature, and she helped prevent measles outbreaks in a few African villages before she even had a medical degree.
In addition, unlike her predecessors, “I have two X chromosomes,” she says.
Dr. Martin was named interim dean of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine in August 2015, succeeding John Mazziotta. She officially became dean on July 1.
Her permanent appointment came more than a year after an external investigator found, in response to complaints, that three female faculty members in a research program at the school had faced a hostile work climate and had been treated in a demeaning manner. Dr. Martin is aware that, as the school’s first female dean, she sets “a new perception.” She plans to foster a community of open discussion and tolerance. She also expects to examine the school’s selection processes for medical residents and faculty members ,to make sure they are free of bias based on gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual identity.
After she studied literature, at Harvard University, Dr. Martin spent two years in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) with the Peace Corps. She obtained her M.D. at Yale University in 1992, at the same time earning a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. She joined the faculty at UCLA in 1999. Her research has focused on neural biology and how the brain maintains memories.
Her experience with the Peace Corps influenced her decision to attend medical school, she says. During her service, by writing grants, she managed to set up a successful measles-vaccination program in rural villages.
The Peace Corps also taught her about geographic and cultural influences on well-being, making her aware that “where different patients came from and how they lived contributed to their state of health,” she says.
As dean, Dr. Martin faces the task of strengthening UCLA’s robust research despite dwindling federal funds. She plans to leverage the school’s intellectual property to generate resources to reinvest in research. She says she is also committed to providing equitable, high-quality health care to people in the surrounding community.
Each year, thanks to a gift from the entertainment executive David Geffen, up to 20 percent of entering students at the medical school will receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships. Those students should then be free to choose a career path without being limited by the need to pay off student-loan debt.
“It’s important,” Dr. Martin says, “to maintain the idealism that brings most individuals to a career in medicine or biomedical research, and that’s the desire to help the community.” — Rin-rin Yu
Contributing to a Revival
For years, Asandi Conner watched as talented professionals left Michigan, heading to Chicago or the East Coast for what they perceived as better opportunities. Ms. Conner, a Detroit native, considered leaving, too. But she felt that her hometown needed her.
“I was motivated to have a voice in the resurgence of the city,” she says.
Now Ms. Conner is doing that — and bringing more professionals into the city — through her job as director of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows program at Wayne State University.
The two-year effort, which is supported by $4 million in grants from several foundations, matches professionals with organizations working on community and economic development. The fellows work for the organizations and receive leadership training and monthly executive coaching from the university and other sources.
The university now has its third cohort of fellows. According to Ms. Conner, about a third are from Detroit, another third are from elsewhere, and the final third are “boomerangs,” professionals who grew up or went to college in Michigan and are returning to be a part of the city’s turnaround.
“As an urban institution in the heart of the city,” Ms. Conner says, “we have an opportunity to lead.” The program is part of Wayne State’s Office of Economic Development.
Ms. Conner, who was the program’s strategy leader, plans to work on services for alumni of the fellows program, creating a network and offering continued training as the past fellows advance in their careers. The hope is that they remain and “continue to do good work and shift the leadership culture of the city,” Ms. Conner says. Of the 48 fellows who have finished, more than half have remained in the area.
Ms. Conner has a personal reason for wanting to make Detroit a more attractive destination for professionals. Her daughter is a student at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Ms. Conner is encouraging her and her friends to settle in Detroit and be part of its revival. — Kathryn Masterson
Civic-Engagement Award
Robin Saha, an associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Montana, has won the 2016 Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award. It is bestowed by Campus Compact, a national network of nearly 1,100 colleges with a commitment to civic engagement.
Mr. Saha has written articles about the disparate impact that environmental pollution has on poorer and minority communities. He has encouraged affected communities to collect their own data and advocate for better environmental management.
Four finalists were also named. They are David Berle, an associate professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia; Christopher Janson, an associate professor and interim chair of leadership, school counseling, and sports management at the University of North Florida; Ellen Percy Kraly, a professor of geography and environmental studies at Colgate University; and Susan Needham, a professor of anthropology at California State University-Dominguez Hills. — Ruth Hammond
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