Message from the Dean

This past academic year has been a whirlwind of activity, growth and change at the College of Medicine. As we look forward to the 2007-2008 academic year, I'd like to outline several major highlights and accomplishments from the last year.

• Our overall research expenditures continued to increase and we hired several new excellent faculty members in the basic science departments.
• Our faculty continue to work with scientists from the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, whose new facility across the street from the Reynolds Medical Building should be completed in the fall of 2007.
• The college was named in the top 10 Medical Schools for Hispanics for the second year in a row by Hispanic Business.
• We continued to serve the community with the Mini Medical School program, and the number of participants in the program continued to increase.
• The Texas A&M University Class of 1957 celebrated their 50^th reunion by donating $250,000 to create an endowed scholarship fund at the college.
• Substantial renovations were completed in the lecture halls, the gross anatomy labs and the multidisciplinary labs in both College Station and Temple.
• Campus expansion plans became reality as sixteen students began third-year clerkships in Bryan/College Station to mark the beginning of a four-year campus in the community.
• We welcomed 106 matriculating students into the Class of 2011 in July 2007, which was the largest class to date in the college’s history.
• The College marked 30 years of educating medical students with a year-long celebration culminating in the Founder’s Day Celebration.

It truly is a great time to be a part of the College of Medicine. Thinking back to my arrival here in January 2003, I never could have envisioned all the progress we would have made in the last four and a half years. I’m proud to be the leader of this college and to work with such dedicated and passionate faculty, staff, students and alumni. This next year promises to be even more exciting than the last and I’m looking forward to the ride.

Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H.
The Jean and Thomas McMullin Dean of Medicine