LETTER FROM THE DEAN AND THE DIRECTOR

Dear Colleagues,

This June we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the School of Medicine's first graduating class. What began as a small medical school committed to training the best primary-care physicians for the state of California has grown into a major academic medical center that ranks among the best in the nation for both primary and specialty care.

Our success lies in part in having consistently attracted a highly qualified and diverse student body. Our students were the first in the nation to establish a clinic to meet the needs of the medically underserved in the Asian community, which inspired subsequent generations of students to establish similar clinics for Latinos, Muslims, AfricanAmericans and other populations.

Our faculty's commitment to patient care and medical education has created a dynamic training environment for our students and residents. Thirty years ago, we needed physicians to educate our students, and we received tremendous support from practicing physicians in the community and at Kaiser Permanente, one of the major health-care providers in Sacramento. Without their commitment, we wouldn't have made it as a medical school. Today, this legacy continues, with more than 2,000 physicians from the community serving as volunteer faculty members.

Our future success lies in our ability to embrace research and develop new technologies. Our pioneering use of telemedicine technology and our strong collaborative agreements with hospitals throughout the region have significantly improved the lives of patients and the practice of medicine in outlying areas. Through our strong partnerships with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, the Veterans Health Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to name a few, our physicians are focused on pushing the envelope in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

We hope you will support our many efforts as we continue creating the best environment for healing patients, training physicians and discovering new knowledge for years to come.

Sincerely,