Today I have the pleasure of congratulating retirees with 25 years or more of service to the Medical Center. To all of our retiring faculty and staff, thank you for your commitment to this institution.

Each time I walk the halls of the Medical Center I’m reminded of the tireless dedication of more than 9,000 employees who make this place run. Each of you is important to our mission, whether you joined us six months ago or 25 years ago.

With education as the foundation for what we do, we have several new faculty joining us in July. Two of those new faculty members are researchers of national and international renown, Dr. Michael Lehman and his wife Dr. Lique Coolen.

Dr. Lehman has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences. He has more than 25 years of experience in academic research and leadership at Columbia University, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Western Ontario. He comes to the Medical Center from the University of Michigan, where he has served as professor of molecular and integrative physiology, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-director and research professor of the Reproductive Sciences Program since 2010.

Dr. Coolen has joined the faculty as a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. She also will serve as the associate dean for graduate and postdoctoral studies. She has been on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Western Ontario. Prior to joining UMMC, she was a professor in the Department of Psychology and Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan, where she also served as associate director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program.

Dr. Coolen and Dr. Lehman are just two examples of the new faculty joining the Medical Center. You will hear more about other faculty in the coming weeks.  They are all leaders in their chosen fields and our students are the beneficiaries of their vast knowledge. Our institution and state will grow stronger as a result.

I hope you will join me in welcoming them and all of our new faculty and staff. It’s my honor to be around such a talented group of employees, past and present.