Dean’s Dialogue highlights progress, plans for year ahead
Marking her first year as dean of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, LaTanya Love, MD, reflected on a year of progress and looked toward the initiatives shaping the school’s future during the latest Dean’s Dialogue, Sept. 1.
The entire Dean’s Dialogue is available to rewatch on Panopto (external link).
Love opened the virtual event by emphasizing the collective strength of the medical school community, which includes more than 10,000 students, trainees, faculty, and staff.
“This one year has really been one year of progress together,” Love said. “We have accomplished so much together, way more than any one person could ever do alone.”
Among the accomplishments Love highlighted, were the launch of a combined MD/MBA program with the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, establishment of the Department of Cardiology, construction of a new interactive classroom designed to accommodate the entire 240-student medical school class, development of a new governance model for UT Physicians, and recruitment of new leaders across the school.
Love also highlighted efforts to strengthen the school’s culture, deepen relationships with clinical partners, improve communication, and create opportunities for faculty and staff to provide feedback.
Preparing for the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
Sam Neher, EdD, MS, assistant professor and director of accreditation and continuous quality improvement, provided an update on preparations for the Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation process. The school’s LCME site visit is scheduled for March 6-8, 2028, and work is already underway on the extensive documentation and self-study process for the visit.
Neher also shared results from student and faculty surveys, which showed that among graduating medical students, 97.5% agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the quality of medical education, compared with a national average of 92.5%.
Faculty also provided strong feedback through the StandPoint Faculty Engagement Survey, which received a 74% responses rate. Approximately 82% of faculty reported being satisfied or very satisfied with McGovern Medical School, and results compared favorably within the cohort of other participating medical schools.
“I think we should be really proud of ourselves for that,” Neher said.
Financial outlook
Mike Tramonte, MBA, senior vice president of Finance and Business Services and chief financial officer at UTHealth Houston, provided an overview of the financial landscape at UTHealth Houston and McGovern Medical School, including the important roles clinical care, research, and partnerships play in supporting the institution.
Tramonte noted that financial measures taken during the previous fiscal year helped the medical school finish the year in a positive budget position. He emphasized the importance of continuing to manage resources thoughtfully while noting that some restrictions, including those surrounding travel, have been eased.
Welcoming the Class of 2030
Sheela Lahoti, MD, professor of pediatrics and vice dean of Admissions and Student Affairs, introduced the Class of 2030, which began medical school Aug. 3 following a highly competitive admissions process.
More than 6,000 people applied for 240 available seats in the class. The incoming students represent 68 undergraduate colleges and universities and 58 undergraduate majors, spanning the sciences, engineering, computer science, humanities, social sciences, and music.
The class also brings a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences to McGovern Medical School. Among the new students are 25 nontraditional students with nonscience degrees, previous careers, or other unique personal journeys. Students in the new class range in age from 19 to 38.
Lahoti emphasized that the admission teams review each application individually, seeking well-rounded students who will become not only successful physicians but future colleagues.
“We really feel that it’s such an investment into not just the future of the institution, but in our own personal journeys through our professions,” Lahoti said. “This is an investment in our future colleagues.”
Exploring AI in education and clinical care
Bindu Akkanti, MD, associate professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, discussed efforts to thoughtfully incorporate artificial intelligence into medical education, including McGovern Medical School’s participation in The University of Texas System Research Engineering Application Lab project exploring the use of AI in simulation-based education.
The project will initially examine previously completed student simulations to explore how AI could provide feedback, with the longer-term goal of evaluating opportunities for real-time feedback. Faculty development efforts are also helping educators understand how AI can augment teaching while addressing concerns surrounding overreliance on technology.
AI is also poised to play an expanded role in clinical care at UT Physicians.
Olasunkanmi Adeyinka, MD, chief medical information officer for UT Physicians, discussed plans to expand ambient AI technology for clinical documentation. Following pilot programs involving DAX and Abridge, UT Physicians is working toward adopting Epic’s ambient listening platform as a unified system.
The technology is intended to reduce the administrative burden associated with clinical documentation, improve efficiency, and allow physicians to focus more attention on patients. Plans call for the technology to eventually be available to physicians across the practice plan, with implementation paired with an Epic refresher to help physicians incorporate AI tools effectively into their clinical workflows.
New faculty advisory committee
Liam McElhiney, JD, managing legal officer in the Office of Legal Affairs at UTHealth Houston, provided an update on governance changes following the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 37.
Revised McGovern Medical School bylaws establish the Dean’s Faculty Advisory Committee as a new forum for faculty perspectives on policies, procedures, governance, and academic welfare.
The committee will include representatives from departments across the medical school and the Institute of Molecular Medicine and will meet every other month, with its inaugural meeting planned for September.
McElhiney said the goal of the new structure is to provide a forum for raising issues, testing ideas early, and ensuring the dean regularly hears perspectives from faculty across the medical school.
Future in Focus
Monica Newland, MEd, director of Strategic Business and Project Management at UTHealth Houston, provided an update on Future in Focus, UTHealth Houston’s strategic planning process.
The initiative is currently in its “listen and learn” phase, gathering feedback from across the university to help shape its future direction. Future in Focus centers on four pillars—education, research, clinical care, and organizational excellence—with the goal of publishing the strategic plan in the spring.
Newland and Love encouraged members of the medical school community to complete the Future in Focus survey (external link) to ensure their voices are represented in the planning process. To help push the competition further, every school, clinical practice, or administrative area that reaches the goal will earn a pizza party.
“I know that we have a lot of competitive people on this call, myself included,” Love said. “I really want to see the medical school get a lot closer to the goal.”
Love closed by encouraging the community to remain engaged as McGovern Medical School builds on the progress of the past year.
“These accomplishments belong to all of us,” Love said. “This is just the beginning.”