Med Center has banner year

Fred Sanfilippo delivers the State of the Medical Center address Jan. 29.

‘Sleeping giant' is awake, progressing toward goal, Sanfilippo tells community

By EMILY CALDWELL, Medical Center Communications

Considered by some a "sleeping giant" of the Midwest, the Ohio State University Medical Center is awake and increasingly making its presence known nationally thanks to institutionwide efforts to grow and welcome change, according to Fred Sanfilippo, senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health.

Sanfilippo delivered his annual State of the Medical Center address Jan. 29 as a capstone to a banner year for research, education and clinical accomplishments and to look ahead to expanded programs, the transition of cardiac care into the Ross Heart Hospital and strategic planning for the academic medical center.

"We have taken on an initiative that can be particularly challenging but that's also of considerable importance: defining the objectives and priorities of the academic medical center in the context of the entire enterprise, which encompasses clinical care across hospitals, educating students and conducting research that's often interdisciplinary in nature," Sanfilippo said. "The tendency to think about what benefits just pieces of the Medical Center rather than the whole is diminishing as faculty, staff and students increasingly embrace the principles of working together toward the greater good of the entire institution."

The culture change is paying off: Health System finances turned around two years ago, and the system of four acute-care hospitals plus the primary care network has sustained a positive balance. External biomedical research support increased by 89 percent over three years to reach $114.6 million in 2003. Research funding has included a total of $37.5 million initiated by state officials to support ventures partnering Ohio State researchers with the private sector in part to generate new medical products and jobs in Ohio. In the same time frame, the number and quality of applicants to the OSU College of Medicine programs leading to MD, Ph.D. and combined MD/Ph.D. degrees have increased dramatically.

OSU Physicians (OSUP), the single, integrated physician practice plan whose creation has been guided by physicians over the course of many months, now includes 94 percent of the regular and clinical medical faculty. "Through the collective efforts of physicians, OSUP has been instrumental in a number of areas, including creating a self-insurance trust to address the rising cost to physicians for malpractice insurance and negotiations of better managed-care contracts," Sanfilippo said.

The past year also was a hallmark for construction, with an October groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the launch of the $152 million Biomedical Research Tower and the Ross Heart Hospital project staying on schedule for an opening this fall.

The strength of these achievements and others -- including elevated national rankings for academic and clinical programs and people -- will serve as leverage for the next wave of growth planned at the Medical Center, including expansion of clinical and research components of the cancer program with the ultimate goal of becoming one of the top 10 National Cancer Institute-funded centers in the country and creating a unique environment for translational research. Sanfilippo said the Medical Center also will pursue personalized health care in Columbus, a more consumer-driven health care model characterized by better outcomes and cost effectiveness and supported by technological advancements in management of medical records and personal health profiles.

Recruitment and retention -- including leadership development and talent management -- remain central to Sanfilippo's focus on the people needed to generate change, and will contribute to progress in two new departments as well as enhancements to a number of other programs.

Sanfilippo also noted establishment of the Council on Diversity and Cultural Affairs that will enhance the integration of existing diversity programs and activities for faculty, staff and students, and provide a forum to identify problems and propose solutions.

Pulling people together to identify next steps toward a common goal has been a trademark activity for Sanfilippo, and it was in one of his leadership meetings that the "sleeping giant" reference surfaced. Envisioning a major news story in 2008 about the OSU Medical Center's dramatic rise to the top tier of academic medical centers -- the central, driving goal for the institution -- Sanfilippo asked his team to write the story's headline. Said one: "From Mediocre to Meteoric -- What Woke Up a Midwest Sleeping Giant?"

"I enjoyed that," Sanfilippo said, sharing other favorite headlines during his address. "And the great thing is, the answer would be that we woke ourselves up and did the hard work to be counted among the top tier of the country's medical centers. I believe it will happen."

WOSU goes digital

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

With the flip of a switch, WOSU Television unveiled its new digital multicast service to central Ohio and opened a new chapter in public broadcasting.

The historic event took place at 6 p.m. Jan. 22, with the premiere of an original WOSU high definition production titled Explore Columbus.

Within minutes, viewers watching the show on WOSU's high-definition channel were sending congratulatory e-mails to the station expressing their excitement and appreciation, said General Manager Tom Rieland.

WOSU Stations General Manager Tom Rieland   By Jo McCulty

"It is fitting that the digital era began with a local program, reflecting the station's continuing emphasis on expanding local programming," he said.

Rieland said the new capabilities of WOSU offer a world of new opportunities. More than $4.2 million in new equipment -- funded through state and federal grants -- has been installed to help the station meet a Federal Communications Commission mandate for public stations to offer digital television signals.

The immediate advantage of digital transmission is a clearer picture and a better variety of programs. While continuing to broadcast its current TV34 analog service, the station will introduce four new daily digital programming services and provide high-definition programs during evening broadcasts. New digital program services include:

• WOSU.DT is a simulcast of the WOSU.TV analog program schedule.

• WOSU.Kids will provide PBS Kids and ready-to-learn program services, including award-winning programs like Sesame Street, Clifford and many more.

• WOSU.You will feature programming that promotes life-long learning, including workplace essential skills, GED training, languages, history and public affairs programming.
• WOSU.Plus will carry state of Ohio legislative coverage, WOSU local productions, educational program services and a one-day delay of the PBS primetime schedule.

• WOSU.HD will offer a primetime schedule of special high-definition and digital widescreen program specials broadcast throughout the week.

Rieland added that, while a high-definition TV is needed to receive the HD feed (WOSU.HD), the remaining digital signals may be received soon by subscribing to the digital tier offered by local cable television suppliers Time Warner and Insight Communications. A complete schedule of programming can be found on the Web at www.wosu.org.

"Our digital television service is an extraordinary technology that will offer our viewers more choices and more public television programming," Rieland said. "The digital service that we are offering today is still just one of the initial phases of our long-range digital plan for rebuilding WOSU's facilities."

A capital campaign is currently underway at WOSU to raise $7 million to build the local digital infrastructure required to program locally.

The station has additional plans to implement data casting technology, giving WOSU the capability to send information (video, audio and Web) over the digital broadcast signal. This spring WOSU, in partnership with OSU Extension, will be launching a data casting pilot project to explore its capacity in select schools in the station's viewing area, Rieland said. For example, teachers planning a lesson in math can examine the WOSU video library and request specific learning tools that can be sent to their computer's hard drive, providing them with broadcast-quality audio and video.

The OSU Extension Learning Center in Piketon will serve as a training center for teachers in that area to work with the new technology.

The WOSU Stations are member supported, nonprofit, noncommercial public radio and television stations licensed to Ohio State. For more information, visit the Web at www.wosu.org.

Hogan to become Iowa provost

Executive dean begins new position July 1

By SHANNON WINGARD, Media Relations

Michael Hogan, executive dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and professor of history, has been appointed provost of the University of Iowa, effective July 1.

As executive dean since July 2003, Hogan has led the restructuring of the colleges to form a consistent, collaborative and financially sound core of programs. He joined the Ohio State faculty in 1986 with a specialty in the history of American diplomacy and national security affairs, becoming an administrator in 1993 when he was named chair of the history depart-ment. He was dean of the College of Humanities from 1999-2003.

President Karen Holbrook said Hogan's leadership has been an asset to Ohio State, and his recruitment by Iowa not surprising. "He will be greatly missed as a colleague, a scholar and a leader. When you have great people, you know they will be attractive candidates for other university positions. We were hoping that it would not be this soon. At the same time, we are very happy that he has this opportunity. He will make a great provost," she said.

Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder agreed. "It certainly is a loss to Ohio State, because he has been a wonderful asset to us in his many leadership positions. Iowa is fortunate to have attracted someone with his tremendous combination of talent and experience. The arts and sciences are at the very heart of the university. Mike's achievement in bringing the colleges into a successful working relationship is extremely valuable to the future of this university," she said.

Hogan's current responsibilities include recruiting and evaluating deans in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, which consists of 41 departments, some 1,000 faculty and five colleges: Arts, Biological Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Zuheir Sofia, chair of the university's Board of Trustees, also praised Hogan. "Iowa has found in Mike Hogan an exceptional scholar of powerful intellect and accomplishment and a superb academic leader of high integrity. First as chair of the Department of History, then as dean of the College of Humanities, and most recently as executive dean of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, Mike has worked with uncommon vision and energy to help The Ohio State University take its place among the premier institutions of higher education in the country," Sofia said.

"This is a bittersweet moment for me, to say the least," Hogan said. "I have spent 18 years at Ohio State and my four children are graduates of this institution. In every way possible, this university has been good to me. It has helped me build a great graduate program in my field, and given me the chance to work with wonderful colleagues, to chair a terrific department, to lead a great college, and to forge a new federation of the arts and sciences."

Before joining Ohio State, Hogan was a member of the faculty at Miami University, Stony Brook University and the University of Texas, Austin. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa, and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

As provost at Iowa, Hogan will serve as the chief academic officer and will supervise all academic programs, various issues involving faculty members, student academic affairs and strategic academic planning. He also will serve as a university representative to Iowa's Board of Regents and with a variety of internal and external constituencies. In addition, he will be involved with universitywide strategic planning and budget development, health care services, and direction of research and scholarship.

"My new position at the University of Iowa is a great opportunity at my alma mater," Hogan said. "For me, it is literally a case of leaving home to go home, and in such an opportunity sadness and joy are mixed in equal parts."

Snyder said an interim dean will be named soon.