Learning for a New Era
Since remote learning and virtual events became a new reality due to the pandemic in 2020, the landscape shifted back to nearly normal this past year as some educational activities returned to in-person or hybrid learning models.
As COVID-19 infection rates surged and waned, academic leaders evaluated and then decided the best course of action regarding large gatherings in order to protect students and their families. While Match Day in March was virtual for the second year in a row, decreased COVID-19 infection rates happily led to in-person commencements in May for graduates of both UT Southwestern Medical School and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. In December, the School of Health Professions also celebrated with a live commencement.
UT Southwestern’s commitment to furthering biomedical and health care education – despite the ongoing challenges of providing exceptional health care during a pandemic – led to several notable advances in academic affairs this past year, including a decision to launch a new School of Public Health, addition of a Health Informatics degree program, and a commitment to enhance diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The COVID-19 pandemic, as the latest in many challenges to public health, has underscored the need to develop science-based interventions as well as an expanded public health workforce. In response, UT Southwestern is launching a School of Public Health, its fourth and newest school in more than 50 years. The school expects to welcome its first class in the fall of 2023.
UT Southwestern’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences launched a Master of Science in Health Informatics degree program, applying the power of big data to health care. The two-year program, which welcomed its inaugural cohort of 16 students in August, is open to individuals with backgrounds in data science, information technology, and computer science.
The School of Health Professions has received a $3.25 million federal grant to provide financial assistance to students in its nationally ranked Physician Assistant Studies Program. The Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students will help defray the cost of tuition for 120 students pursuing a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree over the next five years.
UT Southwestern’s Simulation Center is taking education to a more sophisticated level by making lifelike simulated body parts to enhance medical training. The Center uses six 3D printers to create realistic and effective learning tools for the hundreds of physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals who train here, which translates into better education and patient care.
A national search for a Chief Diversity Officer launched this year, the latest effort by UT Southwestern to enhance its commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and community engagement campuswide. This expands other diversity initiatives in education, including the hiring of an Assistant Dean in early 2021 to lead diversity efforts in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the appointment of an Associate Dean for Faculty Diversity in 2020, and the launch of an anti-racism lecture series in 2021.
Since 2010, 95 participants in the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) have graduated from UT Southwestern Medical School. The state-funded initiative provides support and encourages economically disadvantaged college students to matriculate to medical school. UT Southwestern is among the original nine medical schools in Texas to join the program.
