Faculty and staff contributions honored at
50th anniversary picnic
School of Medicine Is Good as Gold
housands of faculty physicians, researchers, and staff members turned
back the clock to commemorate the School of Medicine’s 50th anniversary
at a festive picnic on November 20. Setting the stage for an afternoon
of celebration, dancers brought back doo-wop and the hand jive, popular
among the school’s first students when classes began in 1952.
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John G. Clarkson, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, joined the party, along with UM President Donna E. Shalala. The event focused on contributions of faculty and staff in the success of the school’s first 50 years, including the institution’s rise to leadership in clinical services and scientific research.
“We’re here today to thank you for what you do every day to help us fulfill our mission,” Dean Clarkson told attendees at the picnic, which filled the Schoninger Research Quadrangle with activity.
“Over the past 50 years, we’ve seen unprecedented advances in modern biomedical science,” Shalala added, “and the University of Miami School of Medicine has been an important part of that golden age.”
Partygoers were treated to music that spanned the decades, performed by the Simon Salz Band, and UM mascot Sebastian the Ibis led Hurricane cheers. Also in attendance was President Emeritus and Chancellor Edward T. Foote II, president of the University for 20 critical years of the medical school’s history.
The growth from the School of Medicine’s beginnings to today’s sweet success was symbolized by a spectacular dessert display. Cakes in the shape of the Biltmore Hotel, where the former servants’ quarters served as the first classrooms, and the Rosenstiel Medical Sciences Building, home to medical education for the 21st century, were joined by a bridge, connecting the past to the present of the School of Medicine.
“I think this partyis well-deserved,” said Elicia Estrella, a genetics counselor in the Department of Pediatrics, “because everyone here works so hard.”
The faculty/staff picnic was the most recent highlight of the year-long anniversary celebration. In September a luncheon for all medical students brought the Class of 2006 together with the graduating Class of 1956 to reflect on advances in medical care, as well as the values that remain timeless.
Momentous steps down memory lane will be revisited this winter at the school’s anniversary symposium, January 31, featuring presentations broadcast on the Web, as well as in the third, fourth, and fifth floor theaters of the Rosenstiel Building.
For the latest on events and milestones, visit the 50th anniversary Web site at www.med.miami.edu/50thanniversary.