Dean's Update
October 4, 2024 - Aron Sousa, MD
Friends,
This fall has been a pretty steady stream of evening and weekend events. Sometimes, I feel a little like I get packed up into a box and shipped somewhere, then someone takes me out of the box, stands me up in front of a group to say my words, and then I get packed back up into the box and shipped somewhere else to repeat the process. But, before you feel too sorry for me, let me assure you, I have fun when they let me out of the box. And, you all make it possible for me to do some really cool stuff. So, thank you.
This week, I gave the Karen J. Stuck, MD, Memorial Lecture to the Henry Ford Health Department of Radiology, and I met Dr. Stuck’s husband, Walter Borda. He has made a series of gifts to support science and education in the department. The gifts are generous and have supported important collaborations between Henry Ford and Michigan State faculty. The work of the investigators is very interesting and the partnership is inspiring. My thanks to Mr. Borda, Henry Ford Radiology Chair Sabala Mandava, MD, Chad Klochko, MD (CHM’13), Brent Griffith, MD, and everyone in the department for their hospitality.
Also this week, I attended the awards gala for the Grand Rapids Symphony, which honored a couple of great friends of the college, Jim and Mary Nelson. Together, Jim and Mary have supported a college scholarship, music students, and student athletes returning to Michigan State to finish their degrees. They also support whole groups of students from the Forest Hills Public Schools, who are attending more than 19 colleges and universities. Jim and Mary support more than 30 students currently getting their education. They are amazing.
Dean Jim Forger of the College of Music and I had the honor of introducing them at the gala, and Dean Forger is always a great colleague. The real gem of the evening was the concert before the gala featuring the Grand Rapids Symphony playing two Dvořák pieces, including the cello concerto with Yo-Yo Ma as the soloist.
The music was amazing, as I imagined it would be. But I was surprised by how much fun Yo-Yo Ma had – I had not seen Ma in concert before, and I did not realize he would be the person having the most fun in the hall. In fact, I’ve never seen a soloist enjoy themselves so much. He watched the orchestra and smiled so broadly; he gestured to other players and beamed with joy. At the end, he pointed to and applauded each musician with whom he had a duet in the piece. He hugged the conductor and shook the hands of as many orchestra members as he could reach. Finally, he led the audience in singing Happy Birthday to the conductor and his daughter, who share a birthday. And through his enthusiasm, Yo-Yo Ma demonstrated to the audience just how fortunate we are to have a symphony, to have that symphony.
Ma’s enthusiasm and generosity of spirit filled the hall, which affected me as much as his music did. I had the chance to talk to an orchestra member after the concert, and I asked, was his joy as special as it seemed to me? And indeed, she said the other musicians felt his comradery and generosity as much as I imagined. His love of his colleagues and collaborators and his joy in their combined effort and artistry were messages unto themselves. Notes that their years of work and training were worth it, and that we all should enjoy and support them as much as he did. There is toil beneath all excellence, but Yo-Yo Ma seemed to release the joy stored during years of deferred gratification. It’s a shame that I lack the musical synapses to hold the music from the concert in my head, but the joy from that night is still all through me.
Serving the people with you,
Aron
Aron Sousa, MD, FACP
Dean, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine