The global impact of medicine at Michigan is impressive and undeniable, and the pride we all can derive from the world-wide volunteer efforts of our students, physicians, nurses and staff is enormous and gratifying. We congratulate and commend everyone within the Health System who is involved in these global initiatives. Our positive effects on developing nations would not be possible, however, without the spectacular biomedical achievements happening right here in Ann Arbor every day.

Providing the best environment and culture to enable those achievements is an ongoing responsibility of the Medical School and the Health System of which it is part. Facilities and equipment must keep pace with advances in technology for optimal progress in research, education and clinical care. Researchers, in particular, need to be able to pursue new directions at any time, as today’s newly discovered knowledge charts tomorrow’s course of scientific inquiry.

Our ability to remain a leader in biomedical research and health care delivery — and, correspondingly, in the education of future researchers and physicians — comes from a variety of strengths, not the least of which is public and private support of our institution. Though state appropriations have decreased in recent years, they still form a substantial portion of the funding that supports the University of Michigan and its Health System. As a public institution, we owe much to the state that has supported us for so many years. Funding from the National Institutes of Health helps provide a vital foundation for our research efforts, without which many of the remarkable scientific pursuits taking place throughout the Health System today simply would not be possible.

Private philanthropy forms another crucial element of our support, as illustrated by the historic gift made by Bill and Dee Brehm to hasten the pace of discovery of a cure for type 1 diabetes. The Brehms made their gift out of an unwavering conviction that the University of Michigan holds the greatest promise for medical breakthroughs, that the scientific rigor and collaboration inherent in Michigan research is the most likely source of a cure to this baffling, often debilitating, sometimes deadly disease. The Brehms’ faith in us is a great testament to the caliber of research at Michigan, research that is at once commonplace and incredible, research that comprises the daily work of medical professionals as well as the extraordinary moments when a human life is saved. We salute the Brehms’ generosity, dedication and steadfast vision, and we are grateful for their partnership at this remarkable time in biomedical research.

We are also grateful for the continuing partnership of the C.S. Mott Foundation, whose $25 million gift toward construction of a new children’s and women’s hospital furthers a relationship going back 40 years when the foundation’s support helped build the existing, and now outdated, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The Mott Foundation gift, as well as that of Bill and Dee Brehm and indeed so many others at so many levels, illustrates perfectly the power and progress that can be realized when those of like minds and like visions work together to accomplish a common goal. The Michigan Difference campaign for medicine at Michigan will forge more of these partnerships, and help provide the foundation upon which our work and progress will continue.

Our vision of the medical campus is revolutionizing how we do research and deliver clinical care, while providing a top education to some of the nation’s brightest students. The Biomedical Sciences Research Building, the Cardiovascular Center, the Depression Center, the new children’s and women’s hospital — all in some stage of construction or planning — will have profound benefits to future science, education and health care delivery at Michigan. And, as we’ve seen in this issue of Medicine at Michigan, those profound benefits will reach well beyond the Health System and the state of Michigan, helping to improve lives around the world.

Robert P. Kelch (M.D. 1967, Residency 1970)
U-M Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and CEO, U-M Health System