Dear Friends -

In what is a wonderful congruence of dates, all of the major winter holidays will be occurring at just about the same time later this month.  So, whatever holiday is yours, I want to wish you the very most enjoyable time as you gather with family and friends to celebrate. You are a dedicated, hardworking group of students, faculty and staff and deserve to take this time to relax and re-energize.

It is also a good time to remember your accomplishments for 2016. By any measure, it has been a great year for our College.  As I reflect upon what I see as our greatest achievements here this past year, I cannot find a single thing that was the result of any one individual's efforts. They are all the outcome of a dedicated team of people, working together, and succeeding enormously in their task. That's what we are all about. That's who we are. A great team of people who understand that together we are much better and stronger than as the sum of our individual parts. Bravo to us all.

To this point, I have spent much of this year trying to convince you that you are (or can be) better than you think you are! Mediocrity is not an option either as a state of mind or expected level of performance. I hope that you have all become "believers" and won't forget it as a New Year and new challenges soon present themselves. You are no longer the "little engine that thinks it can," you are the proud owners of a series of achievements that have proven "yes, you can!"

As you know, our first work day in 2017 will be January 3rd.  When you arrive on the 3rd, Dr. Boiselle will be your Dean and he will be in Room 239 with the lights on, conducting the business of the College. We are incredibly fortunate to have attracted him here and you will all enjoy getting to know him. For our College, the best is yet to come and I will watch from afar with great joy and anticipation.

Thanks for the honor and privilege of allowing me to serve as your Interim Dean for the past year. It has been a fun year for me and I have so very much appreciated your making me feel as though I were a part of the family as opposed to just a "temp." I will always look back upon 2016 fondly and treasure my time at FAU and in Boca.

My very best wishes for much future happiness and success. Go Owls!
 
Sincerely,
   
Art

Arthur J. Ross III, M.D., M.B.A.
Interim Dean and Professor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Dean's Office
561.297.4341