Some of the medical school's key accomplishments under Philip Pizzo's leadership

Norbert von der Groeben

Philip Pizzo hands out diplomas to the graduating class of 2011. One of the major changes under Pizzo's leadership was the implementation of a new curriculum for medical students.

Changes in education and training:

• Implemented a new curriculum for medical students, with the inclusion of a "scholarly concentration" requirement.
• Increased the compensation and benefits available to postdoctoral scholars.
• Established the Center for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning.
• Created two new educational programs to enhance bench-to-bedside training: one that allows PhD students at Stanford to earn a master's in medical science, and another that helps residents and clinical fellows earn PhDs.
• Implemented the Educators-4-Care and other programs to improve clinical teaching and mentoring for medical students.
• Launched an effort to revise the curriculum for the MS/PhD programs at the medical school as well as the MD/PhD programs
• Led the school to a highly successful review by the LCME in 2005, and in planning for the accreditation review that will occur in October 2013.
• Stimulated new programs for online learning for medical students.

Changes in culture:

• Wrote and published the twice-monthly Dean's Newsletter to keep the medical school community better informed of the issues facing the medical school.
• Conducted 12 annual retreats in which faculty members and administrators from throughout the medical center and university came together to discuss issues, set priorities and gain deeper understanding of the work taking place at the medical school.
• Established an Office of Institutional Planning to lead and coordinate strategic planning within the school and between the school and hospitals.
• Fostered the establishment of a "Respectful Workplace" program for the Stanford Medicine community.
• Revised the structure for the medical school professoriate, and clarified the appointment and promotion criteria for all faculty lines, enhancing the role of Medical Center Line faculty and creating opportunities for the newly developed Clinician Educator Line faculty.
• Participated in the recruitment of more than 600 of the current 872 full-time faculty, and several hundred clinician-educator faculty.
• Established a new policies and procedures for the recruitment of senior leaders, leading to the appointment of nearly all current clinical department chairs.
• Created the Office for Diversity and Leadership to equip faculty members with leadership skills and to promote diversity within all faculty ranks.
• Instituted a medical center-wide no-smoking policy and bike safety for the university.
• Implemented several policies to limit the potential influence of pharmaceutical and biomedical companies in the day-to-day clinical and educational activities of the school.
• Improved relations between the School of Medicine and the university, and strengthened the relationships between the school and the two hospitals.
• Fostered collaboration and productive interactions with the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System and the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center — both major affiliates of the School of Medicine.
• Fostered an outstanding Office of Communications that has helped the school achieve national and international prominence for the contributions from its faculty, students and staff.
• Assumed numerous national leadership positions that gave Stanford a significant voice in local, state and national policy.
• Led fundraising efforts that have brought in about $1.6 billion over the past 12 years.

Changes in research program:

• With the School of Engineering, created and launched the Department of Bioengineering — the first Stanford department to be jointly operated by two schools.
• Created the five Stanford Institutes of Medicine, which include: the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine; the Cardiovascular Institute; the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection; the Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neuroscience; and the Cancer Institute.
• Established three strategic centers to better integrate the school's overall research mission: the Center for Clinical Informatics, the Center for Genomics and Human Genetics, and the Center for Imaging along with other major centers and research programs.
• Achieved "Cancer Center" designation from the National Cancer Institute for Stanford's cancer program.
• Received a $30 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the NIH to further the school's efforts to translate laboratory discoveries into health-care advances; created the Spectrum organization to oversee these efforts.
• Created the Center for Innovation in Global Health.

Changes in physical landscape:

• Built and opened the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning & Knowledge — the "front door" to the School of Medicine and the home for its education programs and administrative offices.
• Built and opened the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, the largest dedicated stem cell research building in the country.
• Built the Jill and John Freidenrich Center for Translational Research, which will enable scientists to design and conduct human-subject clinical trials.
• Coordinated the planning for the C.J. Huang Building that will house the Asian Liver Center and other clinical research programs.
• Began planning for new buildings that will house the cardiovascular, neuroscience, cancer and immunity/transplantation/infection institutes; and the eventual demolition of the Alway, Lane, Edwards and Grant buildings to make way for three new research facilities.
• Stimulated the planning for the Center for Technology and Innovation on Porter Drive in the Stanford Research Park.

Changes in clinical programs:

• With Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, established the Clinical Council of Chairs and Joint Planning Committees to coordinate decision making with hospital leaders.
• Oversaw development of unique "funds flow" models with Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Packard Children's that serve as models for financial and clinical excellence coordination and integration of clinical care and delivery programs.
• Initiated planning to develop and refine coordinated clinical care focusing on major centers of excellence (e.g., cardiac, cancer, neuroscience, transplantation) as well as local and regional primary care delivery).
• With Packard Children's Hospital, developed and implemented a new Pediatric/Obstetrics Faculty Practice Organization.
• With Stanford Hospital & Clinics, created the Clinical Excellence Research Center to find ways of improving patients' health while lowering the cost of delivering care.

This information was compiled by Kendra Baldwin and edited by Susan Ipaktchian.