CAPTION: A. Eugene Washington, MD, right, Duke University Chancellor for Health Affairs and President and CEO of Duke University Health System, Mark F. Newman, MD, DHIP President, and other leaders address the crowd during the celebration of the Department of Neurosurgery becoming a full department in the School of Medicine.
From Duke Today
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Previously a division in the Department of Surgery, the elevation of the division to department status follows a national trend.
A. Eugene Washington, MD, Duke university Chancellor for Health Affairs and President and CEO of Duke University Health System, said he was well aware of the neurosurgery faculty's international reputation as a leader in clinical practice. But he said he has since found the department is also an innovator in global health, research and classroom education.
"We think the department will develop a model for teaching and training that will be used in other departments," Washington said.
He praised the leadership of inaugural chair John Sampson, MD, in getting the department off the ground.
Other Duke officials were on hand to help launch the department.
"I can sum up my feelings in three words: You did it!," said Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of the School of Medicine.
The creation of the new department followed reviews of the proposal by several university committees, including the Academic Programs Committee and the Academic Council.
