A new academic year has just begun, with a new group of students.
And we have a new group of leaders for the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Care.
Not everyone is new, to be sure, but we’ve tapped some new leaders and moved others into new roles and new titles.
• Marschall Runge, MD, PhD, is [...]

Yesterday our university got a new president-elect, Tom Ross of Davidson, N.C.
The governing board of the UNC System, which has 17 campuses, including this one in Chapel Hill, elected him officially yesterday.
Ross is currently the president of Davidson College — and he has deep roots in our state and its leadership.
I believe he will be [...]

Because of several unrelated developments, we have the opportunity to reload the senior ranks of the UNC School of Medicine.

I welcome this — and see it as a chance for us to prepare ourselves and the institution for the next phase of our work together.

Fall has most assuredly arrived in Chapel Hill. The leaves are especially colorful this year, the morning air has been crisp more than once, and, as dean of the UNC School of Medicine I had the honor of delivering my fall address to the faculty.
This year provided ample reason for reflection. We have faced [...]

The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce holds a summit each year at which they focus on pressing matters affecting their area. This year’s focus is health care in North Carolina.
The folks who have planned this year’s meeting could not have chosen a more timely topic about which they can assist and educate the business community.
I [...]

As a new strain of swine flu appears in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention once again takes the lead.
The CDC, based in Atlanta, is uniquely qualified to deal with potential public health crises – whether infectious diseases or other challenges. Its epidemiologists and laboratory scientists work in close [...]

I had an engaging conversation about health reform yesterday with Frank Stasio, host of the program “The State of Things” on our local NPR station WUNC. You can hear the interview, “Prescription for Health Care,” on the Web.
Mr. Stasio was well informed, and asked important questions ranging from how the wheels of reform [...]

It is clear that the new Obama Administration and the Congress are going to have a serious go at health reform this year.

As someone who has been trying to help accomplish a substantial overhaul of our flawed health care financing and delivery system for decades, this is a really interesting and even exciting time. A lot is at stake, but we have a major opportunity to make major improvements in health and health care in America.

The news this week, both in North Carolina and nationally, features distinguished people who are alumni of the White House Fellows program.

This great program was founded by President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s. UNC President Bill Friday played a major role in the early years of the White House Fellows.

Congratulations to my colleague and friend, Joe DeSimone.

A couple of days ago the Raleigh News and Observer named him their Tar Heel of the Year for 2008.