Position Description

The University of Michigan invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the College of Pharmacy.

Established in 1876, the College of Pharmacy is a research-intensive unit committed to excellence in professional and graduate education within one of the nation’s premier public research universities.  A member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy since its founding, the College was reaccredited for seven years in 2011.  It offers a professional curriculum leading to the Pharm.D. degree and to Ph.D. degrees in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, and social and administrative sciences, and maintains an enrollment of approximately 340 Pharm.D. students and 85 graduate students.  Today, the College has a diverse group of nearly 100 faculty and staff.  Many have been recognized on campus, nationally and internationally for their service and contributions to pharmacy research and education.

The dean is responsible for providing academic, administrative, and fiscal leadership, and reports directly to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.  The dean represents the College in promoting collaborations with other units, including the other health science schools, on the university’s highly interdisciplinary campus.  The dean is expected to be a passionate advocate for the College in its relations with internal and external constituencies and have a proven record of fundraising success.  Candidates for this position will have a Pharm.D. and/or Ph.D. or equivalent experience in a discipline related to the overall mission of the College, a distinguished scholarly record in research and education appropriate for a tenured appointment in the university at the rank of professor, demonstrated leadership and administrative abilities, an understanding of current issues in pharmacy and health care, and a fundamental commitment to diversity.

Nominations and applications will be reviewed beginning June 2013.  Individuals from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.  Inquiries, nominations, and applications consisting of a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of three references, should be submitted in electronic form to Mary Elizabeth Taylor, [email protected]

Email inquiries may be addressed to Professor Ellingrod, Chair of the Search Advisory Committee, at [email protected].

For more information about the College of Pharmacy, see https://pharmacy.umich.edu

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

REPORTING AND KEY RELATIONSHIPS

The dean of the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy reports directly to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan.  The dean will also work in close collaboration with other senior officers of the University and the deans of its schools and colleges, in particular, the deans of the health sciences schools.

THE DEAN'S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

The dean will have the opportunity to define a global and still more influential role for the University of Michigan in pharmacy.  In conjunction with other colleagues both on and off campus, the dean’s agenda will include:

Define and articulate a distinctive strategic vision for the College

The College is grounded in scholarly accomplishment and public leadership and has demonstrated experience in building public and private partnerships. The new dean will work with key stakeholders to create an innovative vision for the future, which will advance a new strategic position in education, research and patient care. This should capitalize on the College’s remarkable strengths, which include but are not limited to:  national and international leadership in pharmacy; models of medication therapy management and policy; and influential research in pharmaceutical science, medicinal chemistry, clinical and translational pharmacy, and social and administrative pharmacy. In collaboration with the faculty, the dean will define the future of the College, articulating emerging needs and addressing challenges that require new thinking including models of inter-professional education.

Build further the exceptional faculty

The College’s faculty are engaged in a broad range of research that spans basic science investigations of experimental therapeutics, clinical studies of drug efficacy and safety, patient outcomes and medication adherence and the advancement of pharmacy practice. They are distinguished by this diverse range of science.  In addition, the clinical faculty push the boundaries of innovative patient care through the development of new practice models. Collectively, the faculty are actively engaged in the educational mission of the College through the delivery of a highly-ranked Pharm.D. program and internationally recognized graduate programs.

Since 2004, the College has increased its faculty by 21% across all three of its departments.  At present, the college has 68 faculty members. Presently, two senior level faculty are being actively recruited.  Of the current 68, 34 are tenured or tenure-track positions: 21 are full professors, 7 are associate professors, and 6 are assistant professors.  The other 34 faculty are comprised of 29 on the clinical track, who also have joint appointments in the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) and 5 research professors.  There are over 500 voluntary faculty and 53 staff members (35 administrative and 18 research).  Of the tenure track faculty, 29% are female, and 9% are members of an under-represented minority; more than a third of the tenured faculty are over 55 years of age. 

The College has an impressive number of preceptors who participate in the experiential portion of the Pharm.D. curriculum.  These preceptors also play a key role in driving innovation in models pharmacy practice.  With recent curricular changes, students are being exposed to practice earlier and as such there is a growing need to identify a greater variety of preceptors and experiences for students.

The anticipated transition in faculty rank distribution associated with the expected retirement of a number of faculty over the next several years will present a unique opportunity for the College to consider its faculty composition for the future.  The dean will be instrumental in leading the creation of a faculty equipped for shifting paradigms in research, education and health care.

Extend the College’s leadership in academic programs

The University of Michigan College of Pharmacy is an affirmed leader in pharmacy education.  A critical and distinguishing component of its educational model is the requirement for a research project for all Pharm.D. students.  There is also strong emphasis on leadership training for students so that graduates are ready to be key leaders in the field.

The Pharm.D. curriculum has recently undergone a major revision, the result of broad faculty participation in rethinking pharmacy education.  It is now grounded on team-based and expanded service learning.   Students are introduced to pharmacy practice earlier and participate in medication reconciliation and transitions of care.  The dean will engage the faculty in the exploration of future educational needs and opportunities in Pharm.D. education to assure that the program moves to the leading edge.  Interprofessional education, in collaboration with the other health sciences schools on campus, is an important avenue for this exploration. 

Extend leadership in research and strengthen collaborations across the University

Research remains a critical component of the work of the College.  The College and its faculty have been remarkably successful in the last year attracting $7.8 million in external support and developing scholarly work that is globally influential.  

A number of new research collaborations have been initiated in recent years, such as the new Biointerfaces (http://ncrc.umich.edu/research/initiatives/biointerfaces), the Translational Oncology Program (http://ncrc.umich.edu/research/initiatives/translational-oncology), the Center for the Discovery of New Medicines (http://cdnm.lsi.umich.edu/), and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR; http://www.michr.umich.edu/home).  These are complemented by the participation of several faculty members in interdisciplinary research initiatives housed in the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC).

Recently, the College has strengthened its research infrastructure and in this era of sharply tightening federal funding, the College has, for now, maintained its funding level.  Bridge funding has been made available to faculty members who have lost support to give them time to re-direct their programs as well as find alternative sources of support.  It is essential that research and its external support remain strong and continue to grow.

Address serious physical space constraints

The College has critical space needs.  While some pharmacy faculty are in physical spaces with their collaborators throughout the university campus, including the NCRC and the Victor Vaughan Building, most are housed in offices and laboratories in the pharmacy building, built in 1960. Laboratory space is both severely constrained and inadequate for the scientific inquiry of faculty and students.  Although there are spaces across campus used by the College, which can accommodate the use of new teaching technologies, instruction in the pharmacy building takes place in classrooms often not configured for enhanced learning models.  There are few places for faculty and students to gather, formally and informally.  Conference rooms are scarce and small.  Some space constraints are being addressed by the ongoing renovation of the first floor of the College of Pharmacy building, which will bring new administrative and student services space. 

Assure the continued distinction of students

In recent years, the number of applications to the Pharm.D. program has soared to over 500 for 85 slots.  This has resulted in an increasingly distinguished student body with over 80% of admitted students having an undergraduate degree.  The College has deliberately held its enrollment steady and relatively low; thus the trajectory of attracting highly qualified students is expected to continue. 

Tuition costs for pharmacy education continue to rise. Providing financial support for students remains a high priority, to assure their continued distinction and diversity, both of which are highly valued at the College.  Assuring that the cost of education does not impact the quality of the student body is essential. The College is especially proud that it offers financial aid to all third and fourth year Pharm.D. students.

Build and manage resources to address a changing economic environment

As state support for the University declines it is necessary to develop new revenue streams and new efficiencies to support the College—its students, faculty and staff, and the physical space.  The College has long attracted strong research support; however, in an increasingly competitive environment of external research funding, the College will need to seek new and novel approaches to support its research enterprise.  Currently the College is exploring such sources of revenue as new modes of delivering education to certain external audiences, and engaging in additional contract work with other organizations. The relationship between the College’s clinical faculty and the University’s Health System is mutually beneficial—a source of research and clinical expertise and a tremendous practice venue and source of support for the College.  Opportunities exist for collaboration with the NCRC incubator and its initiatives to commercialize ideas and discoveries, the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and other internal and external stakeholders.

A critical role for the dean will be to lead fundraising efforts among individuals, corporations and foundations. This means cultivating and sustaining relationships with current and potential funders who will provide the ongoing financial support essential for the College’s work.  The University is about to enter the public phase of a major comprehensive campaign in which the College’s goal will be $20 million, a fraction of which has already been raised. The endowment now stands at $95 million.  At present the College annually raises about $1.5 million (FY2012).  The opportunities for private support suggest that the dean will need to cultivate and develop friends for the College at the highest levels of government, business and foundations as well as among individuals nationally and internationally. The groundwork has been laid; the new dean will lead the effort to realize the potential of these fundraising efforts.

At the same time, the extraordinary resource represented by the College’s faculty and their active engagement in critical pharmacy issues suggests that the dean can call on colleagues for collaboration and counsel. The University of Michigan’s strong culture of interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration represents a vast and rich intellectual resource.  Students, too, at professional, graduate and post-doctoral levels, are keen to join in the collaboration and represent a genuine resource for the College.  The professional students regularly demonstrate their commitment to the support of future students.  96% of the class of 2013 Pharm.D. students pledged over $106,000 for scholarships.  In addition, the dean relies on the Dean’s Advisory Committee, whose members are internationally recognized as experts in the field and are prominent supporters, and the elected Alumni Board of Governors that provides valued counsel on the curriculum.

The College is financially sound; a strength that is essential to maintain.  The dean will need to adeptly and effectively manage and grow resources in this era of constrained resources.

Build selected external partnerships

As the College’s evolving strategic vision takes shape, it is likely that multiple new partnerships will emerge and it is expected that the dean will shepherd and expand these collaborations. 

The College will continue serving as partner to external entities such as the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System, as well as industrial partners, higher education institutions, and others. 

The dean will continue to build and strengthen relationships within the University and on the campus.  The dean will extend the culture of active collaboration with those external to the College so as to underscore the proposition that pharmacy is central to the purposes of the University.

These partnerships and the products they produce or have the potential to produce are highly important to the future of the College and the University of Michigan; their pursuit and stewardship are a key component of the dean’s portfolio.

In addition to national partnerships, the dean will need to direct and support the formation of new international relationships related to faculty research programs and the education of our Pharm.D. and Ph.D. students.

Strengthen public awareness of the College’s broad engagement in pharmacy

The ability to connect with national and opinion leaders as a respected peer will be crucial to the success of the new dean.  A newly designed website will contribute to those connections and that public presence.  The College has been recognized for its engagement with the national and global agenda in pharmacy and health care; the dean will strengthen the College’s public presence to assure its continued prominence. 

The successful candidate will be nationally recognized in pharmacy with demonstrated leadership and substantial administrative experience; strong scholarly visibility within the pharmacy academic community; and the capacity to exercise intellectual leadership at the local, state, national and international levels.  Minimum requirements include:  

• a Pharm.D. and/or Ph.D. or equivalent experience in a discipline related to the overall mission of the College;
• a strong commitment  to research, teaching and service in pharmacy or the health sciences as well as a deep appreciation for pharmacy as a health profession;
• distinguished academic pharmacy experience with substantial administration and scholarly achievements in teaching and research, and a record of distinguished scholarly or clinical accomplishment in the area of pharmacy; non-traditional leaders will demonstrate commitment to research and scholarly accomplishment;
• ability and motivation to work collaboratively with colleagues across the University of Michigan and its partners, especially the leadership of the University’s colleges, schools and research institutes, the University of Michigan Health System, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center;
• proven success in – or aptitude for – external and alumni relations and funds development;
• a record exhibiting a fundamental commitment to diversity; and
• credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor with tenure.

In addition, the candidate will possess:

• the ability to identify and address the challenges facing pharmacy education and, in collaboration with the faculty, to articulate and build consensus for a vision for the College as well as a strategic plan to achieve it;
• the intellectual leadership and curiosity to provide guidance to a robust research program;
• a commitment to and experience for supporting and cultivating a distinguished, accomplished and diverse faculty;
• skill in the acquisition and allocation of resources to meet these priorities;
• the ability to articulate University of Michigan College of Pharmacy priorities, accomplishments and needs to a broad range of internal and external constituencies, including alumni, academic and social institutions, governmental entities and business and industry communities;
• a strong record of programmatic leadership and the ability to serve as an advocate for the College and its initiatives in a comprehensive university context and more broadly to the state and the nation; and
• strong social and interpersonal skills, with willingness to collaborate.

Founded 133 years ago as the nation’s first college of pharmacy at a public university, the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy is one of the most respected institutions of its kind. It has garnered international recognition as a leader in pharmacy education and research whose faculty are driving discoveries felt from the corner pharmacy, to corporate boardrooms, to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories around the globe. With over $9 Million in NIH funding in FY 2012, the College is ranked 10th in the nation; and once again in 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked the College among the top ten. More remarkably, the College remains relatively small, with an average enrollment of 340 Pharm.D. students and 85 Ph.D. students who benefit from the educational advantages of belonging to a close-knit community with the resources of a world-renowned University and Health System.

The College’s nearly 4,000 alumni are among the most accomplished in their fields. The Michigan experience has also made them exceptionally loyal, giving back to students and the College generously with their time, support and financial donations. The College’s endowment now stands at over $95 Million. An Alumni Board of Governors and the Dean’s Advisory Committee, consisting of leading industry, academic and government officials, also provide invaluable guidance on curriculum and strategic direction for the College. 

The College’s 68 tenured/tenure-track faculty are divided into three departments: the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, which consists of faculty in the disciplines of social and administrative sciences, pharmacy administration, and clinical and translational pharmacy, including clinical faculty and adjunct clinical faculty; the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, which consists of faculty in the disciplines of medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacognosy; and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, which consists of faculty in the discipline of pharmaceutics. The College has over 500 adjunct faculty, 97% of whom serve as preceptors for the experiential program.

Notably, the College recently underwent a major curriculum review and redesign focusing on team-based and experiential learning, which was viewed very positively by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) during reaccreditation in 2011. The ACPE granted full accreditation of Michigan's Pharm.D. program extending until June 30, 2020. The Pharm.D. program is one of only a few in the nation which requires every student to undertake and complete a research project before graduating.

The College is on excellent financial footing. Despite reduced state support over the past several years, the increase in enrollment and in the endowment has offset the losses.  Currently, approximately 30 percent of the College’s $30 million budget comes from tuition, 25 percent from research grants, and thirteen percent from philanthropic support.  Endowment income and support from the Provost contribute the remainder.

Professional Program

The professional program at the University of Michigan has a long history of innovation, including being the first to emphasize the basic sciences as a critical part of pharmacy education.  The College was one of the first programs in the nation to create an add-on (1962) and entry level Pharm.D. program (1981). Its reputation of offering a superior educational environment is supported by peer surveys completed by US News & World Report.  In each of the surveys over the years, the College has been ranked among the top ten. In the 2012 survey, it was ranked seventh. Currently, there are approximately 340 Pharm.D. students, with a target of admitting 85 per year, which ensures a very favorable Pharm.D. student/faculty ratio of nearly 8:1.

A new Pharm.D. curriculum was implemented in 2010 and includes: Increased Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE and APPE); establishment of a required innovative introductory practice experience centered on medication reconciliation at the UMHS and other sites; development of a required inpatient acute care general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experience to give students a focused experience in the care of acutely ill patients; and expansion of therapeutic problem solving sequence to a five-semester series that utilizes a team-based learning pedagogy. Early reviews from students and faculty have been positive.  Notably, nearly 40% of Pharm.D. graduates successfully pursue residency training.

Graduate Programs

The College offers Ph.D. degrees in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, and social and administrative sciences.  Growth in the number of graduate students at the College has reached over 85.  All Ph.D. programs were reviewed by the University’s Rackham Graduate School in 2009-2010.  By any measure, the College’s graduate programs have a long history of success.  For example, graduate students from the College of Pharmacy have received 15% of all nationally competitive American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Fellowships awarded since 2009. In an effort to increase the cross-disciplinary interaction between students from different programs, the College has implemented a required course for all first year graduate students on the responsible conduct of research.  This course is successful in meeting its content goals. Secondary effects of this course are that graduate students have greater opportunities to network with each other and to learn about the other disciplines within the College. The College also promotes interdisciplinary learning through the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Medicinal Chemistry.  Approximately 50-60% of Ph.D. graduates go on to positions within various industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, while the others obtain academic positions.

Undergraduate Program

In addition to its graduate programs, the College also offers a small educational program that leads to a BS degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences.  Planning is underway to grow this program as a possible feeder system into the Pharm.D. and graduate programs.

Post-Doctoral Experiences

Post-doctoral experiences for both graduate and professional students are offered as well. There are 16 postdoctoral students working with faculty in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences. For professional students, the College offers PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies as well as two post-doctoral clinical fellowships. Michigan’s residency program was the first pharmacy residency ever created, which was done so by Harvey A. K. Whitney in 1927 (http://www.harveywhitney.org/hak.php). This residency has long been recognized as a leading program in postgraduate pharmacy education, most recently in 2010 when the residency earned the ASHP Pharmacy Residency Excellence Award.  

Students Enrolled in the College of Pharmacy in 2012-13

Pharm.D.: 335
Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry:  42
Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences:  44
Ph.D. Social & Administrative Sciences:  7
B.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences:  1
Total 429

University of Michigan College of Pharmacy Core Values & Mission

Core Values

Respect · Excellence · Leadership · Diversity · Community · Integrity · Professionalism · Innovation

College Mission

The mission of the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy is to prepare students to become pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists who are leaders in any setting.   The College provides a quality education that effectively integrates critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills. Research in the pharmaceutical, social and clinical sciences and its translation into health care is a key component of our mission.  The College achieves its mission by striving for excellence in education, service and research, all directed toward enhancing the health and quality of life of the people of the State of Michigan, the nation and the international community.

Centers of Excellence

Vahlteich Medicinal Chemistry Core (VMCC) (https://pharmacy.umich.edu/vmcc)

The VMCC is an on-campus facility that designs and synthesizes drug-like molecules and diagnostic probes for biomedical investigations. The center is staffed with individuals with over 100 years collective experience in the pharmaceutical industry. VMCC´s capabilities include organic synthesis, design of molecular probes and drug-like molecules, analysis of structure-activity relationships (SAR), triage of high throughput screening (HTS) data for the selection and follow-up of promising leads, improvement of ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity) properties of lead compounds, structure and ligand-based computational methods, and patentability of chemical matter.

Center for Molecular Drug Targeting (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/cmdt/home)

The Center for Molecular Drug Targeting (CMDT), located in the College of Pharmacy, focuses on promoting multidisciplinary research based on molecular and cellular approaches to drug design, drug targeting and drug delivery. The Center consists of core faculty and staff promoting multidisciplinary research, and associated faculty with collaborative research projects.  The Center provides facilities and expertise to assist in multidisciplinary research and grant preparation.  An annual research grant and administrative support are offered to promote multidisciplinary research.

Affiliated Centers

Center for the Discovery of New Medicines (CDNM) (http://cdnm.lsi.umich.edu/)

With a robust community of scientists, extensive research infrastructure and a network of experts in critical legal and business areas, the Center for the Discovery of New Medicines (CDNM) coordinates and supports the development of therapeutics from discovery to the market. The strengths of U-M’s Medical, Pharmacy, Engineering and Public Health schools combine with departments in chemistry, biology, dentistry and nursing and converge with U-M’s offices of Tech Transfer and Business Development. The university’s scientific cores—in chemical genomics, medicinal chemistry, animal models and pharmacokinetics—provide an array of equipment and expertise to help researchers turn promising compounds into new medicines.

Center for Chemical Genomics(http://www.lsi.umich.edu/facultyresearch/centers/chemicalgenomics)

The CCG provides assistance with assay development for implementation into high throughput screening. Resources include: a small molecule compound collection, liquid handling robotics, detection equipment, relational database and chemistry software for follow-up development.

The College’s Core Services Laboratories

Pharmacokinetics (PK) Core (https://pharmacy.umich.edu/pkcore)

The PK Core provides both preclinical and clinical pharmacokinetic studies to support drug development and discovery.

Biochemical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core (http://www.med.umich.edu/brcf/nmr-core.htm)

The Biochemical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core provides support and consultation in the planning, implementation and analysis of experiments performed on state-of-the-art high field 400 MHz and 500 MHz NMR spectrometers.  The NMR core is also part of the Michigan Regional Comprehensive Metabolomics Resource Core (mrc2.umich.edu).

Pharmacogenomics

The College also houses the Clinical Pharmacogenomics Laboratory, which primarily serves a research mission.  Expansion of this core lab is currently underway in collaboration with the University of Michigan Health Systems for the purpose of introducing personalized medicine within the UM hospital and clinics.  This advancement in pharmacy practice is still in its beginning stages; it will incorporate not only existing care models, but also emerging pharmacy practice models through the use of collaborative practice agreements.

Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan (U-M) is a public university that is recognized as one of the world’s premier research universities.  It is a leader in undergraduate and graduate education, offering challenging academic programs and diverse cultural and social opportunities in a stimulating intellectual environment.  U.S. News and World Report ranked it 28th among all national universities and 4th among public universities.

The University’s mission is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving, and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

The main campus in Ann Arbor has an enrollment of more than 41,000 students – about a third of whom are in graduate and professional studies — and a faculty of more than 6,000.  Many of the nineteen individual schools and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus are ranked in the top ten nationally.  In addition to the main campus, the University has regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn.

Based on its remarkable scale, diversity, and richness, one of the University of Michigan’s greatest strengths is its interdisciplinary focus on research, teaching, and service.  Crossing the traditional boundaries of schools and colleges, new initiatives and programs are building exciting partnerships in life sciences, engineering, arts, and humanities.  Joint curricular programs, theme semesters, collaborative research initiatives, and joint appointments for faculty are just a few of the institutional efforts to support connectivity across different university communities.

Research expenditures totaled $1.27 billion in fiscal year 2012, which is among the highest in the nation for major research universities.

While the University of Michigan offers many tremendous resources related to research and teaching, the following are a few examples, which may be particularly relevant to the future mission of the College of Pharmacy:

University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts

Since 1841, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) has been the heart of The Michigan Difference, educating young leaders through a rich liberal arts curriculum and creating new knowledge through world-class research and scholarship.

The College of LSA offers more than 100 degree programs in over 75 academic departments and programs. It has one of the largest alumni networks in the world with 200,000 living LSA graduates, and consistently has a first-year retention rate of over 95%.

Former U-M President James B. Angell said Michigan provided "an uncommon education for the common man." As the largest college at U-M, with more than 40 top-ranked programs, LSA continues that tradition of educational excellence. Every LSA program is among the best in the U.S.  More than 40 are among the top 10, and 5 programs are the best in their fields.

University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute (LSI)

The Life Sciences Institute serves as a conduit for achieving excellence in biomedical research by bringing together the world’s leading scientists from a variety of life science disciplines to accelerate breakthroughs and discoveries that will improve human health. With close to 400 scientific staff members, the LSI is exploiting the power of a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to biomedical research in an open-laboratory facility.

Designed as a hub for collaboration, the LSI serves as a physical and intellectual bridge linking the basic life sciences with medicine, public health, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and engineering.  All LSI faculty also have an academic appointment in another school or college at U-M. The LSI is home to an academic early drug discovery center featuring a specialized library of natural products, a cryo-electron microscopy laboratory, a comprehensive protein production and crystallography core, as well as the U-M Center for Stem Cell Biology.

University of Michigan College of Engineering

Strengthened by 70,000 Engineering alumni and countless friends, a public mission and the University’s across-the-board academic excellence—95 graduate programs in the US News top ten—the College has stretched well beyond renowned technical leadership and superb career preparation. The focus is on growing a creative community. Examples include:

• LivingArts, the nation’s first engineering/arts living-learning community;
• The Center for Entrepreneurship, the country’s top engineering entrepreneurship program, including a joint master’s degree with the Ross School of Business.

Meanwhile, the College maintains top-ten rankings in nearly every undergraduate and graduate engineering program.

University of Michigan School of Dentistry

The University of Michigan was the first state university in the world and the second university in the United States to offer education in dentistry. The University of Michigan was also the first to provide graduate-level dentistry education. Four of its faculty members have been elected president of the American Dental Association.  There are 110 full-time faculty and 300 part-time faculty. The average class size is 105 for the D.D.S. program and 30 for the B.S. dental hygiene program.

Fields of study at the School of Dentistry include dental hygiene, oral health, biomaterials, endodontics, computerized dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, and restorative dentistry.

University of Michigan Health System & Medical School

The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) is one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. It is home to a system of hospitals and health centers ranked 14th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, a medical school ranked 8th in the nation for research and primary care, and a school of nursing ranked 6th nationally.

UMHS comprises three hospitals (C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, and University Hospital), the Medical School, the clinical services of the School of Nursing, a world-class Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center, and the nation’s first comprehensive Depression Center.  UMHS also includes 40 community health centers, 120 outpatient clinics and the Michigan Health Corporation, the legal entity that allows UMHS to enter into partnerships, affiliations, joint ventures and other business activities.  UMHS has an overall work force in excess of 26,000 people, including approximately 19,000 clinical and administrative staff, 2,967 faculty and 1,124 “house officers” or residents.  UMHS has a strong interdisciplinary culture working across the many world-class schools and colleges that make up the University of Michigan.

Since founding the nation’s first academic hospital in 1869, UMHS has been dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care for patients. UMHS clinicians see patients from every county in Michigan, as well as across the nation and the globe. In 2012, it recorded more than 1.9 million outpatient visits, nearly 45,000 inpatient visits, and more than 48,000 surgical visits.

With broad expertise, comprehensive patient and family-centered services and high-tech facilities, UMHS provides renowned care in cancer, pediatrics, cardiovascular disease, digestive and liver health, and pulmonary disease.  Patients with the most complex care needs choose UMHS as their health care destination. 

Michigan’s Medical School faculty received $310.5 million in NIH research funding in federal fiscal year 2012, ranking 8th in the country and marking the fourth consecutive year in the top ten. Total sponsored expenditures for FY12 are $439.3 million.

UMHS is one of a small number of top academic medical centers in the nation where the medical school and hospitals are on a campus that is contiguous with nationally ranked and recognized professional schools in dentistry, nursing, social work, pharmacy, public health, engineering, business, and law.  This facilitates and stimulates collegiality and collaboration between faculty and students, and enables interdisciplinary collaboration that expedites innovative solutions to the most pressing health care problems.

As part of the vision to “create the future of health care through discovery,” UMHS is dedicated to bringing together researchers and partners from different disciplines and industries, for example at the North Campus Research Complex and the A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building, to foster a collaborative "team science" environment that transcends traditional discipline silos and facilitates influential and groundbreaking discovery.

Nineteen new start-up companies have emerged from our research in the last five years.  In fiscal year 2012, UMHS researchers filed 117 reports of new inventions with the U-M Office of Technology Transfer, and made discoveries that yielded 42 patent applications and 39 license or option agreements with private companies.

University of Michigan School of Nursing

As a provider of world-class education, the School of Nursing offers innovative and rigorous academic programs taught by renowned faculty, giving students the opportunity to become part of an institution dedicated to making a global impact through cutting edge research, education, clinical practice and professional service.

The University of Michigan School of Nursing is consistently ranked as one of the leading nursing schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report and is also one of the leading schools in National Institutes of Health research funding. The School of Nursing currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs and has approximately 120 faculty members. With the growth in academic and research programs and increases in student enrollment, the School of Nursing is looking forward to the construction of a new building of approximately 75,000 gross square feet to accommodate instructional spaces, a clinical learning center with simulation and skill labs, and simulated patient suites in an environment that will foster collaboration and community. The expansion will create the additional space needed for students to continue to explore, research, engage and learn.

University of Michigan School of Public Health

The University of Michigan School of Public Health seeks to create and disseminate knowledge with the aim of preventing disease and promoting the health of populations worldwide. The School is especially concerned with health equity and thus has a special focus on disadvantaged populations who suffer disproportionately from illness and disability. The School serves as a diverse and inclusive crossroads of knowledge and practice, with the goal of solving current and future public health problems. The department of environmental health within the School of Public Health also leads a global public health initiative, which has recently started a relationship with College of Pharmacy faculty that may facilitate greater global outreach for our faculty and students.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health is consistently ranked as one of the top schools of public health in the country, ranking 4th in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report list. It has the nation's #1 programs in Health Management and Policy and Biostatistics.

MCubed (http://mcubed.umich.edu/)

MCubed is the University’s revolutionary research funding program providing immediate startup resources, without grant proposals, to faculty members pursuing novel, high-risk and transformative interdisciplinary projects.

Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) (http://www.michr.umich.edu/home)

MICHR is funded by an NIH’s Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) to enable and enhance clinical and translational research at U-M and across the CTSA consortium. They achieve this by serving as a catalytic partner who educates, funds, connects, and supports research teams around the University and beyond. This award, funded though the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Science (NCATS), was recently renewed through 2017.

University of Michigan North Campus Research Center Complex

When Pfizer Inc. closed its doors in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2007, University of Michigan leadership realized that the former pharmaceutical research campus would be an excellent addition to its already successful research endeavors.

Being a top research university, the University of Michigan put together a plan to acquire the site for an unheralded expansion – one that would bring scientists and entrepreneurs together – and encourage the kind of collaboration that would bring quick research results. This is known as “bringing the laboratory bench to the bedside,” or, in other words, turning the research that is being done today into the medications, devices and technologies of tomorrow. The NCRC is an opportunity for the University to broaden its contributions as one of the nation's premier research universities and strengthen its ability to stimulate new business through partnerships with businesses in the private sector. By bringing together researchers and partners from different disciplines and industries, the NCRC fosters a collaborative environment that encourages discovery, innovation and creativity and helps catalyze the transformation of the regional economy.

Mission:  Expand the University’s capabilities as one of the nation's top translational research institutions and be a driver in the resurgence of the Michigan economy.

Vision:  A world of fast-paced scientific discovery that ignites improvements to humanity’s health and well-being.

Areas of Opportunity:  Part of the North Campus, the complex of 28 buildings comprising 2.1 million square feet of office, research and manufacturing space acquired from Pfizer in 2009 allows U-M to bring together people and activities to:

• spur cutting-edge interdisciplinary research by providing space to assemble teams of UM researchers to address major challenges;
• engage industry and government in creative partnerships;
• spark technology transfer and entrepreneurship at U-M as home to the U-M Office of Technology Transfer;
• ​boost the vitality of the region.

The University of Michigan is located in the city of Ann Arbor.  A bustling downtown and charming tree-lined neighborhoods make Ann Arbor a safe and ideal place to live, learn, work, and raise a family.  More than 114,000 residents live within the city’s 28 square miles, and Ann Arbor regularly receives national attention as one of the best places to live in the United States, including ranked as one of the top five places for well being (ranked number 3) by U.S. News and World Report and ranked as one of the nation’s best-read cities (number 4) by Amazon.

Ann Arbor is a hub for excellence in education.  The city’s acclaimed public school system has adapted a comprehensive academic achievement plan to help ensure all students are successful.

Endless opportunities for recreation are available in Ann Arbor, which operates 157 parks with trails, golf, canoe liveries, tennis courts, athletic fields, and more.  Ranked by the Natural Resources Defense Council as one of the nation’s top medium-sized cities environmentally, Ann Arbor has a progressive recycling program and takes great measures toward the preservation of the city’s green space.

Many Ann Arbor cultural attractions and events are sponsored by the University of Michigan.  The University Musical Society hosts performers such as Yo Yo Ma, Royal Shakespeare, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.  Other performing arts groups, cinema festivals and art fairs both on campus and in town provide a rich cultural environment.  Museums on campus are dedicated to art, archaeology, and natural history and sciences. A major hub for college sports, Ann Arbor is home to several well-known college sports facilities, including Michigan Stadium, the largest American football stadium in the world with a 109,901 seating capacity. 

If you would like more information on the areas detailed above, please visit the following websites: