It is with great pleasure and excitement that I write to you today as the new Interim Dean of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. I am deeply honored to have been entrusted with this role and to have the opportunity to work alongside such talented and dedicated individuals.

As one of the oldest medical schools in Kentucky, the UofL School of Medicine has a long heritage of medical education in Kentucky. I both respect our great history and understand our community has grown and our world has changed. But no matter the changes through our more than 185-year history, our commitment to taking care of our community remains one of our strengths. As such, I want our school to continue to be relevant. I want our school to continue to be useful. I want our school to continue to be an asset for our community, giving opportunity for students to become physicians or clinician scientists. I want to grow science and ideas. I want to give opportunity for our patients to stay here and receive the best possible care for the toughest types of problems. I want to make sure our state, our region and our community are healthy and whole. That’s why we’re here; that’s our purpose, and one that I will continue to bolster.

I want to keep and preserve the best things we have and the best things we’re doing and do that while growing and addressing new problems that are relevant to our community and our Commonwealth. Healthcare hasn’t always been afforded to every community in America. The opportunity we have in front of us is to uplift those communities by bringing students from around the globe into our medical school and allowing our health system to make reaching impact on those communities. I have my eyes open to the future and the horizon to make sure we’re growing our programs in research, education and clinical medicine in the best way possible to make the most impact.

We have exceptional faculty and staff, exceptional learners and exceptional research scientists, and an extraordinarily sophisticated health system. One of the first things that is so important for a new leader is to be a good learner and a good listener. Learning from people what makes Louisville work, what our strengths are and what our opportunities are will be increasingly important to me. My buzz word right now is strategic alignment and growth. We need to think about every part of our mission with honest conversations. If we can do that, I’m convinced that this medical school will remain strong, and we will be one of the best medical schools in the country.

I’m very passionate about the University of Louisville School of Medicine and feel lucky to have this job. I want this place to succeed, and I want it to be great for our patients, for our learners, for our faculty and for our staff. I want to allow people to realize their dreams and be strong contributors to society. As we embark on this new chapter together, I am committed to fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation within our esteemed institution. Our shared goal is to continue advancing medical education, research, and patient care, making a positive impact on the health and well-being of our community, our Commonwealth and our world.

I look forward to getting to know each one of you, and I am confident that by working together, we will achieve remarkable accomplishments. Let us embark on this journey with passion, determination, and a collective vision of shaping the future of medicine.

Jeffrey M. Bumpous, M.D.
Interim Dean, School of Medicine