UT-H MS Community Affairs Alumni magazine A checkup with Dean Buja

     After a successful five-year dean review by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Dean L. Maximilian Buja, M.D., recently sat down to reflect on his tenure as dean and the progress and future of the Medical School.

     Q: National statistics show that the average tenure of deans of colleges of medicine in the United States is five years. You'll have seven years as dean in April 2003. How have you been able to exceed the national average?

     A: I sit on the Association of American Medical College's Leadership Committee for the Council of Deans, and this group is very concerned about supporting the role of the dean of

     Q: Dr. John Ribble holds the record for the longest tenure as dean at the UT-Houston Medical School - almost nine years. Do you plan to beat Dr. Ribble's record?

     A: Right now, I'm focusing on getting the School through the recovery from Tropical Storm Allison, which will take another one to two years, as well as through the reaccreditation process of the Medical School. We are preparing for a site visit in January 2004 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Those are my most important, immediate goals, and I want to see them through.

     Q: You recently unveiled your updated vision for the Medical School. How do you plan to move the School forward to achieve this?

     A: My vision for the UT-Houston Medical School is that it be recognized as one of the top-tier medical schools in the country and the world by pursuing measured growth to achieve balanced excellence in education, research, and service. To achieve this vision, I am working to see that we have constant advancement of excellence in our mission, and based on the achievements of our faculty, students, and staff, we will be recognized for that excellence. We have grown tremendously in terms of the size of the Medical School faculty and staff, and the accomplishments of the School have followed from this growth in a relatively brief 30-year history. I think we are well poised to move to a higher level. Having a source of flexible funds to promote faculty recruitment and retention is a key component of our strategy and this gets at our fund-raising efforts. We are making progress in articulating this to the philanthropic community of Houston, and although we have a significant endowment - about $48 million now - we hope to double or triple that in the next few years. Other development priorities are master teacher and scholar programs, student scholarships, and a clinical researcher development fund. I also would like to see our research grants and awards continue to grow at a rate of 10 percent a year. We clearly need additional facilities to see our measured growth continue, and therefore we're joining forces with Health Science Center President Dr. James Willerson to plan a new basic research building for the Medical School.

     Q: What has been the toughest challenge for you as dean? What has been the most rewarding?

     A: Let me start with the most rewarding. Being in the role of the dean, you have to take vicarious pleasure from seeing others succeed, and my constitution is such that I get great satisfaction in seeing our faculty and students continue to be successful in many different ways. Since I've been dean, 1,200 students have graduated - over a fourth of the students who have graduated from this Medical School. And several hundred physicians have graduated from our residency programs. I hope my leadership has set a standard to ensure that they have been well trained. Knowing that I have contributed to the next generation of physicians has been very rewarding. Also, I've recruited 11 of the 22 Medical School departmental chairmen and other important leadership positions as associate deans. The chairs, in turn, continue to recruit excellent faculty, and are key to the success of a medical school. Being a part of Dr. Ferid Murad's winning of the Nobel Prize, knowing I had a major role in recruiting him here, was very gratifying. The toughest challenge is managing people in this very complex environment. Trying to find accommodation for two or more good points of view that are yet in conflict is difficult. Promoting the Medical School to our key affiliates and constituents through relationship building with the leadership of multiple entities - the Health Science Center and its various components, Memorial Hermann Hospital and Healthcare System, the UT System, the Harris County Hospital District, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, other components of the Texas Medical Center, etc. - is an ongoing challenge for the dean. Managing those relationships is critically important.

     Q: During your tenure as dean, what have been the greatest changes affecting the Medical School?

     A: Shortly after I became dean in late 1996, the Medical School conducted a revision of our basic science organization, merging pharmacology and integrative biology/physiology into a single department. Problem-based learning was introduced about the time I became dean, and the maturation of that aspect of the medical curriculum has been an important change in our educational programs. The merger of Hermann Hospital with the Memorial Hospital System in 1998 and adapting to our role in that merged entity was a major change. Also, there have been major changes in leadership at the Health Science Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the Harris County Hospital District, and those have had significant impact on the School. I think we have been able to position the School well with the new leadership in these various entities. Of course, change is constant in the topsy-turvy healthcare delivery system, and constantly repositioning the Medical School to function well in the changing clinical environment has been particularly challenging.

     Q: Have you noticed a change in the students over this time?

     A: We continue to attract a diverse and well-qualified group of medical students. I think that the students still come to medical school with an idealism about wanting to serve mankind as physicians, and I think that's very heartwarming. In the last 10 years, many come to Medical School with more complex situations - they are married, have children, and have other financial obligations. There is now essential parity between males and females in the classes. A hallmark of this Medical School is the considerable effort given by the faculty and administration to facilitating the careers of our medical students. We also give special emphasis to inculcating ethical standards and professionalism in our students. To this end, we have recently formed a student group called SCAIP, Student Committee for Academic Integrity and Professionalism.

     Q: Nationally, medical school applications have declined since their peak of 37,402 in 1992. What must medical schools and the profession of medicine do to combat this trend?