Dean's Update
November 27, 2024 - Aron Sousa, MD
Friends,
This is a short week for meetings, and for that I am thankful. I am thankful too for the opportunity to round and work with our dedicated residents and students. And while I am thinking about clinical work, I am thankful for all manner of health advances implemented through study, science, and public policy. So many lives have been saved through clean water, better regulation of food and medicines, and new therapies and medicines developed with funding and support of government agencies. I am thankful for vaccines against polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, meningococcus, and smallpox amongst others. The COVID vaccine is a marvel for its origins, effectiveness, and the speed with which science, industry, and the Trump administration brought it to market. May we all remember that our first obligation is serving people rather than ideology.
As I think about my next week on service and the work I am privileged to do, I am thankful to my family, friends, and colleagues, who have made me the person I am. All shall be forgot, but let my teachers be remembered with advantages for the feats they did for me. My grandparents, parents, and I have all been educated exclusively in the public education system. Our public education system is one of the most remarkable in history and has transformed not just my family but the world. I am proud to work in Michigan’s state university, dedicated to broadening minds and opportunity regardless of who you are, how much money you have, or from where you come.
Finally, I am thankful for curiosity, which drives cats and science to be sure, but is also how people learn about each other and find new approaches to the world. I take heart that curiosity is an old, old part of humanity and is well conserved in animal evolution. I hope that you have the chance to learn something new about loved ones and those around you over the holiday.
The science clearly shows that across sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, politics, and any domain you care to consider, we are much, much more the same than we are different from each other. In a world that seems to be divided by everything, I hope we can unbind our curiosity from ideology and see the commonality we share with those around us and those across the one earth we all call home.
May you and yours have a peaceful and curious Thanksgiving.
Serving the people with you,
Aron
Aron Sousa, MD, FACP
Dean, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine