Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern, announced updates to the institution’s mission and core values – focused on improving the health of all people – at three recent town halls held on campus for faculty and staff. His “State of the Campus” address, which also informed the UTSW community about significant achievements of the past year and plans for growth, included opportunities for employees to ask questions either at the event or online.

On hand as well to field questions were the institution’s four Executive Vice Presidents: Arnim Dontes, EVP for Business Affairs; Dr. Marc Nivet, EVP for Institutional Advancement; Dr. Dwain Thiele, Interim EVP for Academic Affairs; and Dr. John Warner, EVP for Health System Affairs.

Dr. Podolsky began each session ensuring that all efforts were grounded in the institution’s mission and values, which underwent slight revision earlier this year. UT Southwestern’s updated mission is to “promote health and a healthy society that enables achievement of full human potential,” expressed via these three pillars: 

• Educate: Physicians, scientists, and caregivers optimally prepared to serve the needs of patients and society
• Discover: Research that solves for unmet needs by finding better treatments, cures, and prevention with a commitment to ensuring real-world application
• Heal: Best care possible today, with continuous improvement and innovation for better care tomorrow

 The values are:

• Excellence:We strive for the highest standards of clinical excellence, educational distinction, research integrity, and administrative quality in all we do. We are rigorous in our commitment to ongoing improvement.
• Innovation:We endeavor to develop new knowledge about diseases and treatment, enhance the lives of patients through better care and treatments, creatively approach challenges, and inspire the next generation of physicians, scientists, and health professionals.

• Teamwork:We work collaboratively and with a shared purpose, drawing on our diverse backgrounds, talents, and ideas, and bringing an unwavering integrity to everything we do.
• Compassion:We foster an environment in which patients, visitors, and colleagues are treated with respect, dignity, and kindness in every encounter, every day. 

“I hope that hearing about these values will stay with you from today until the next time we gather, and well beyond,” Dr. Podolsky said.

He then touched on UT Southwestern’s many achievements of the past year, including the fourth year of a new UT Southwestern Medical School curriculum, the ongoing expansion of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, the opening of West Campus Building 3 and its Simulation Center, the groundbreaking of the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Frisco medical office building in Frisco, and investments in people through career development programs such as Aspiring Leaders.

“All the great things that have happened on campus in recent years reflect the totality of the commitment and talent of the people coming to this campus every day,” Dr. Podolsky said. “What we have achieved together is remarkable. And I feel entirely confident in saying the best is still ahead.”

He highlighted recent honors to faculty, such as the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards given to cardiologist Dr. James de Lemos and pediatrician Dr. Dorothy Sendelbach; the Institut de France Grand Prix Scientifique awarded to geneticist Dr. Helen Hobbs; and the selection of cancer researcher Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, bringing the number of UT Southwestern members in that Institute to 15.

“What best reflects the totality of our research efforts and our excellence in that area is that the scientific journal Nature Index identified UT Southwestern as the top institution worldwide for quality published research in the ‘healthcare’ category,” Dr. Podolsky said.

He also acknowledged some challenges ahead, including the sunset of grant funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), which may not be renewed after 2023. Another challenge Dr. Podolsky highlighted is ensuring workplace wellness for staff and providers, commonly referred to as “resilience” initiatives.

Popular questions and feedback from the UT Southwestern community included pedestrian issues: the safety and walkability of campus, the status of adding wayfinding signs, and parking availability, especially around construction projects.

“If you haven’t been on South Campus recently, you might be surprised to find new signs and directories that would help you to find many buildings in the area,” Dr. Podolsky said. “Soon you’ll see additional signs on the roadways. These signage projects are in partnership with Parkland Hospital and Children’s Medical Center Dallas, and require approvals from the city of Dallas. There’s also an ongoing pilot for a smartphone wayfinding app that will certainly make a difference in our efforts going forward.”

A few questions were emailed in. One writer asked: What are plans for the Zale Lipshy University Hospital building after the Clements University Hospital expansion is completed?

“None of us saw the growth of Clements coming, even in our most optimistic outlook,” Dr. Warner said. “If we were to pick a path today, we’d look at post-acute care opportunities such as rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities. That’s something we think would add to our portfolio of developing the whole continuum of patient experience and care. However, we are maintaining some flexibility in our thinking as we may need the space to help us handle our continued growth.”

Another attendee asked about the future of Southwestern Health Resources, the clinically integrated network formed in partnership with Texas Health Resources.

“In the last two years, we’ve built a substantial list of accomplishments together,” Dr. Podolsky said. “Our partnership with Texas Health Resources puts us in a position where we can really thrive. There’s no doubt that we’ve seen a lot of patients who were better cared for because of the capabilities we’ve given to each other. We’re committed to each other, and with that, we have a much more efficient board structure. We’re now recruiting for a full-time executive team.”

If you missed one of the town hall sessions, you can watch an archive of the full South Campus session here.