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 Dean's message
Just as good health care professionals are attuned to their patients’ needs, the faculty and staff at the School of Medicine strive to know and provide what our students need to succeed. That, of course, includes excellent, innovative classroom and clinical instruction, ample research opportunities, and the faculty and classmate interaction and support our docent system provides.
I also was reminded before the holidays that, for all the seriousness of our mission and the weight of our responsibilities, we also have fun at the school and do what we can in many small ways to help students manage their workload and enjoy the ride.
Our annual holiday reception, for example, gave faculty and staff a chance to get away from our rounds and classes, clinics and cubicles, and just visit with one another. We also combined that gathering with an activity in which 50 faculty and staff members put together 457 treat bags containing candy, hot cocoa mix and a positive message. So, as students waded into their end-of-semester projects and final exams, they got one more reminder that their school cares.
Now, after the holiday break and a few extra-cold January days, the School of Medicine is humming along in the new semester and the new year. Your continued support for all our efforts — both serious and on the lighter side — is greatly appreciated. Steven L. Kanter, M.D.
Dean, UMKC School of Medicine Robert Arnold wins biomedical ethics prize  Robert M. Arnold, M.D. ’83, has received the Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics. Arnold is a professor in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and at its Center for Bioethics and Health Law. He is an expert in palliative care and doctor-patient communication and won the UMKC E. Grey Dimond, M.D., Take Wing Award in 2003 and was named UMKC Alumnus of the Year in 2008. The Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics — along with its $10,000 award — is presented by the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine to someone who “demonstrates the highest standards in the medical or professional ethics fields.”
New appointments
 Brian Carter, M.D., will serve as the next William T. and Marjorie Sirridge Professor in Medical Humanities at the School of Medicine. Carter, an internationally recognized expert in medical bioethics and neonatal palliative care, joined the School of Medicine and Children’s Mercy Hospital in 2012 as a professor of pediatrics and bioethics. He serves as co-director of the Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center’s Pediatric Bioethics Certificate Course and practices at Children’s Mercy Hospital as a neonatologist. Read more >>
 E. Nathan Thomas, previously the chief diversity officer for the University of Kansas, has joined the School of Medicine as the new associate dean for diversity and inclusion. Thomas served as vice provost for diversity and equity at Kansas since July 2014, providing leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion for 21 non-academic and academic units. Read more >>
Sign up to get in the swing  Mark Feb. 25 on your calendars for Swinging for Sojourner, a golf competition to raise money for the Sojourner Health Clinic. The School of Medicine student organization is a free clinic that treats more than 300 uninsured and underserved patients each year, thanks to more than 1,500 student volunteer hours. School of Medicine students coordinate and staff the health clinic, one of Kansas City’s important resources for its most vulnerable patients.
The event, at Topgolf in Overland Park, Kansas, will run from noon to 4 p.m. The registration fee includes tournament play, a buffet lunch, a silent auction and an awards program. A variety of sponsorships are available, from individual tickets to group sponsorships (up to six participants each). More information, sponsorship details here.
Save the date
 Make your plans to attend this year’s Alumni Reunion, April 20-21. Last year’s events had some of the best turnout ever, so you don’t want to miss this year’s activities. A Friday evening reception and Saturday school tour and dinner are planned. See more details and make your reservation here.
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If you will be in St. Louis during the 