Spring 2009

Dear Readers, It’s clichéd for a community to call itself family, but no other word fit at the Medical College of Georgia on Jan. 20.

MCG President Daniel W. Rahn established several central areas on campus that day where staff, faculty and students could congregate to watch the inauguration of the country’s first African-American president. As I walked from site to site to interview people about the experience, I was engulfed by a spirit of unity.

The gatherings were a veritable melting pot of ages, races, ethnicities, religions, even party affiliations. But none of it seemed to matter. The only label that applied was American.

People alternately cried, cheered, embraced and clasped hands as President Barack Obama took the oath of office. The message was clear: Whatever lies ahead for our country, we’re in this together.

That spirit was evident when MCG’s deans gathered recently to ponder how health care might or should take shape under a new presidential administration. The deans brought vastly different perspectives and experiences to the table; for instance, School of Nursing Dean Lucy Marion knows President Obama personally, and School of Medicine Dean Doug Miller, a Canadian, is intimately familiar with socialized health care. But they share the passion and commitment of putting our health care system under a microscope and contemplating how to make it better.

Dean Miller seemed to capture the pervasive optimism of the group: “We can do great things, even in difficult times. We just have to set our priorities.”

As you read the deans’ insights and ideas, beginning on page 7, we hope you’ll notice that amid all their talk of change, MCG Today itself has changed. Just as the country is taking a fresh look at its priorities, MCG’s flagship magazine is taking a fresh look at how to better serve you, our readers.

The facelift should be evident as you read about the MCG research made possible by the not-so-lowly mouse, or the university’s advances in organ transplantation (personified by the most endearing kidney donor and recipient you’ll ever meet), or the many other stories that fill these pages.

Call me at 706-721-2124 or drop me a line at cderiso@mcg.edu and let me know what you think about the new look. We’re continually evolving to meet your needs, and we need your input to do our best job. This is your magazine, and we never forget that.

After all, we’re family.

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