OHSU School of Medicine offers a rich, multi-faceted environment for medical students, graduate students and faculty. The School, with roots dating back to 1887, is dedicated to educating highly qualified physicians, scientists and other health professionals, and to helping meet the health care needs of all Oregonians. The School is a national leader in biomedical research, translating new scientific knowledge into tangible benefits for humankind.

For most of our existence, the School of Medicine has been a public institution incorporated in the Oregon State Department of Education. In 1995 we became a public corporation, a change that allowed an expansion of our research mission that has continued to flourish. In the last ten years, we have quadrupled our NIH budget and dramatically increased the size and quality of our graduate student education program.

The rich environment that we now enjoy is the full spectrum of population-based public health, clinical medicine education and basic science research. We also have the unusual and important advantage of being part of a health and science university where our colleagues in the Schools of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Science and Engineering interact in research and teaching. This creates a stimulating intellectual and professional environment for our students.

Today, the School is implementing its new strategic plan, with a major goal of enhancing diversity for medical and graduate students, residents and faculty. The School is committed to valuing and advancing the contributions of cultural diversity to health care, research and medical education, and to bridging the gap to eliminate inequities in the health care delivery system.

Another strategic goal is to address the problems of physician workforce shortage and mal-distribution. Beginning in 2001, we have incrementally increased the class size entering the medical education program, and with the 2006-entering class have met our maximum capacity in matriculating a class of 120 students on the Marquam Hill campus. We have also launched a regionalization initiative and are making plans to expand our campus to the OHSU presence on the South Waterfront (the Schnitzer Campus) so that we can educate more physicians in Oregon.

At OHSU School of Medicine, we excel in educating tomorrow’s physicians, scientists and other health professionals and preparing them for a lifetime of learning, leadership, discovery and service. It’s an exciting and dynamic environment where the future of health care is being impacted daily and where healing, teaching and discovery truly come together.

Mark A. Richardson, MD, MScB, MBA