Friends,

Late last month, the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) that 69É«ÇéƬ’s own Lori Anderson, DNP, CRNA, APRN, FAANA will be presented with the Program Administrator of the Year Award at their conference in Louisville, KY this February. Dr. Anderson is being recognized for her excellence and leadership evidenced by the strength of our program and its expansion into a Colorado region where no similar program existed.

Our university is remarkably national (and international) in its scope, which was not so apparent to me during the search process. Our national scope is very important to our current and future success. We have students from every state and our students train and practice all over the country. While we do not have the (in)security of state support like public institutions, we do have the freedom to roam the country, which state schools cannot do. Dr. Anderson and her team have done remarkable work, and I am delighted to see her recognized nationally for her accomplishments.

Our national societies, like the AANA, are a great opportunity for our staff, students, and faculty. Finding colleagues and collaborators is a key part of the road to professional success and fulfillment for people in our lines of work. 69É«ÇéƬ the time work at home becomes routine, there are opportunities to grow in our regional and national organizations, which need people who will step up. This is too. (!) Education focused organizations, in particular, tend to have groups or sections that welcome the work of staff.

Most of us are not , but help drive the institution’s reputation and opportunities for younger faculty and staff. People who win awards are in a good position to sponsor younger colleagues for services opportunities and more awards. It is a situation.

Perhaps most important in the long run, our national societies help protect the overall health of educational and scientific progress. Societies and associations can take positions on issues when individual institutions might be limited by their circumstances. That has been important this year during which societies have advocated for science, gone to court, and used their size and scope to negotiate with congress or push forward public intellectual work. These organizations cannot do this work without their members. So, we need to participate, and we need to be in the room such that their positions reflect our needs as an institution. Which is to say, I hope you engage in your professional societies and help your colleagues do the same.

In the next week or so, I will announce my choice for our interim executive vice president for research (EVPR) on our way to the national search for our next EVPR. On the way to this decision, I have been meeting with researchers to get their input and better understand what they need from the person in the interim role. A nice side benefit of these meetings has been learning about the work of our researchers including the folks in the Scholl College’s Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR) and the Department of Psychology in the College of Health Professions. The work of these groups is remarkable, and I had a lot of fun meeting with them and getting a better sense of their work. I look forward to learning more from our faculty and staff as we move to the search for the EVPR, and I continue to learn more about our amazing people and the positive impact we make on our communities close to home and around the world.

Improving the wellness of all people with you,

Aron