Envisioning the Future of Academic Medicine at Rutgers University

September 21, 2022

Dear RBHS Colleagues:

Since the inception of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in 2013, we have focused on collaborations and cooperation between and among our schools and institutes to build an academic health community focused on excellence and accomplishment in research, scholarship, education, patient care, and community engagement. These efforts are also reflected in President Holloway’s three guiding priorities for Rutgers University, “the relentless pursuit of academic excellence; the development of strategic and institutional clarity; and the achievement of a beloved community.” Our new strategic plan “One RBHS: the Way Forward” further echoes and emphasizes these themes throughout.

In 2019 a twelve-member Future of Academic Medicine Committee with equal representation from New Jersey Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School was formed and charged to assess options and recommend ways in which additional integration might be advantageous for the medical schools and their students, and what the optimal structure might be and why. After a year of deliberations, including input from subcommittees and multiple town halls, the Committee completed a thoughtful and thorough report on the future of academic medicine at Rutgers University, and presented the report in early 2020 at another town hall. In February of that year, I presented this report to the University Senate Executive Committee. Thereafter, the University Senate forwarded an extensive series of questions, to prompt further deliberation and analysis.

Unforeseen global events intervened in March of 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All RBHS academic planning activities and projects not related to COVID-19 response were postponed due to the public health and clinical emergency. Considerations and deliberations on the structure of our medical schools were likewise postponed. While formal assessments were placed on hold, our COVID-19 response did demonstrate that new ways to configure our working and learning communities are possible.

Earlier this year we formally adopted our new strategic plan — “One RBHS: The Way Forward” — to guide RBHS over the next five years. The plan’s Unifying Theme Goal 4 — Enabling Systems and Structures — focuses on assessing the effectiveness of our enabling systems, structures, and processes. A specific initiative under this umbrella calls for us to “Evaluate options for further collaboration and potential consolidation of medical schools to synergize efforts and maximize outputs.”

As you know, late this summer we welcomed Dr. Amy Murtha as the new dean of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dean Johnson has accordingly vacated his position as interim dean at RWJMS, while maintaining his role as dean at NJMS. We have also moved forward on major capital planning initiatives to upgrade the core infrastructure of our medical schools. The Medical Science Building in Newark is being comprehensively renovated in a phased process, and a new education and translational science building will be constructed in New Brunswick to house the educational and administrative components of RWJMS as well as its expanding research enterprise. Our relationships with University Hospital and the RWJBarnabas Health system are strong and provide a sustainable platform for patient care and education.

At this time, we have secured permanent leadership for both schools, the most acute phase of the pandemic is receding, and we have embarked on a capital construction program to enhance the physical infrastructure of NJMS and RWJMS. With the prompt from our strategic planning process, the University Senate’s series of questions, and a request from University senior leadership and governance bodies to come to some resolution, we have reached a logical starting point to revive the inquiry into the optimal structure for Rutgers’ medical schools.

To continue and complete this inquiry, I have asked Dean Johnson and Dean Murtha to move forward and respond to the University Senate’s questions, in order to develop a concrete proposal that can be fully reviewed by our university governing bodies and presented to our internal and external constituencies, including our local communities. To accomplish this, we will appoint several committees with representation from the University Senate, the RBHS Faculty Council, both medical schools, our clinical partners, and our local communities to provide input and examine key issues regarding curriculum, admissions, campus identity, and others as needed. We will also be providing a mechanism for direct input from faculty, staff, students, local communities, faculty governance organizations, and our principal teaching hospitals. We will retain an external consultant to assist us with organizing and completing these tasks, as well as an external consultant with expertise in medical school structures.

Throughout this deliberative process, we will continue to be committed to transparency, dialogue, and meeting the needs of the communities we serve. Dean Johnson and Dean Murtha will be communicating further details about this process accordingly in the near future.

Thank you as always for your commitment to our missions and fulfilling our potential to become one of the best academic health centers in the nation.

Sincerely,

Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH
RBHS Chancellor