- Our new Dean, William Pieratt, DO, and his wife Lori are in the process of relocating to Las Cruces and we look forward to his start date of September 1st. Many of you may connect with him prior to his start date as he will be participating in various initiatives leading up to his arrival.
- Our Board of Trustees will have their quarterly meeting on July 28th. Once finalized, an advanced copy of the agenda will be shared within the College. We are also in the process of planning our annual board strategic planning retreat which will be held in August. Details of the retreat will also be shared once finalized.
- I would like to thank the Office of Advancement for conducting our second Diversity Forum – “Minority Women in Medicine.” It was an excellent session!
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Orientation for new students is here and classes for year two nearly upon us. The faculty and staff have been working throughout the recent months preparing for a very unconventional start of the new academic year.
- After a spring semester that taught us a lot about online course delivery we will begin the semester with the same format for coursework customarily delivered in the classroom.
- OMM and other required skills will be trained in small groups on campus working within the size restriction guidelines provided by the State of New Mexico. Personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate for the activity will be provided. Students who, for personal health reasons related to COVID-19 risk, are unable to attend these activities should contact Student Affairs.
- Years 3 and 4 students are underway in their rotations. Clinical Education is managing last minute rotation changes made necessary by cancellations from sites that may be overwhelmed with COVID patients. The College is providing PPE for all students in cooperation with its clinical affiliates.
- The building will be available for student study as soon as the Governor raises the occupancy limits. We already have the study areas mapped out for distancing and acrylic shields were delivered this week.
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Institutional Advancement
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- Preparation continues for the monthly Diversity and Inclusion series, an ongoing, long-term series that educates students, employees and the community at large on the challenges minorities face and how we can all become better advocates and allies. The next forum will cover Health in the LGBTQ Community and is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12.
- Applications are being reviewed for the newly launched Community Engagement Team (CET). The CET will recommend initiatives and programs to college leadership to elevate the public’s awareness of our mission and its impact. Membership will include representatives from the student body, faculty and staff, as well as a community representative.
- Plans are underway for a virtual Time Capsule Burial Ceremony. The time capsule, which will be sealed for 25 years, will contain documents, photos and other historic objects from the founding of the college through the inaugural commencement ceremony.
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Administration & Operations (HR, IT and Finance)
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Facilities and IT
- Preparing the College for a safe re-opening to students and staff. This includes reconfiguring offices, lecture halls, study spaces, and other areas for social distancing; implementing enhanced cleaning procedures; and installation of numerous hand sanitizer stations throughout the College.
- Assisting staff and faculty with technical transition to remote work and instruction, and providing a resource for effective use of that technology.
- Assisting with the recording and posting of hundreds of hours of lecture materials for the start of school.
Finance and HR
- Closing the fiscal year and working with external auditors.
- Processing new year transactions for employees and departments.
- Assisting with COVID-19 response communications, and assisting employees and supervisors with questions related to reopening plans.
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- The 3rd Annual Medical Student Research Day will be held on Friday, July 17, 2020. Presentations begin at 8:15 a.m. The keynote lecture, “Neuroprotective Strategies in the Treatment of Glaucoma” by Dr. Thomas Yorio, UNTHSC, will be at 12:30 p.m. The complete program is available online: https://bit.ly/38L6Z94
- ORSP wishes to thank Dr. Ontiveros and Dr. Lente for their service on the IRB and welcome new board members, Dr. Eastwood, Ms. Lee, and Dr. Howard. The 2020-21 IRB will be chaired by Dr. Stauss: https://bit.ly/3iPyKC1
- ORSP wishes to welcome Dr. Ross and Mr. Jonathan Kreger, OMS II, to the 2020-21 Research Advisory Council: https://bit.ly/2W5RsM5
- The BioScience Research Laboratory will remain faculty-only access through July as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation. The Human Physiology Laboratory remains closed. Contact ORSP for more information at Research@bcomnm.org.
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Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
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- As a department, we are working diligently on creating new and exciting lab demo videos to support students as we begin the new academic year. These videos will help support and supplement the intended lab sessions, as well as provide additional opportunities for student self-assessment.
- We'd like to congratulate and recognize Dr. Minugh-Purvis for her appointment to the Diversity Council and we look forward to supporting her, and the Council, in this new endeavor.
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Department of Biomedical Sciences
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All members of the Biomedical Science Department are working with students on their presentations for the research symposium. We are looking forward to seeing the products of hard work of all our students at the symposium.
We are proud that Dr. De La Rosa has been appointed to the Diversity Council. She is looking forward to working with the students and faculty to develop programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion to sustain a culture of respect and dignity at Burrell.
Dr. De La Rosa's
recent article
, published in the July 20th issue of
Maternal and Child Nutrition
, was honored by getting the
cover art
of the journal. In addition, her
paper
in the
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
was selected to receive the 2020 ISES Award for Best Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE) Paper.
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Department of Clinical Medicine
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As the opening of the fall semester rapidly approaches, the Clinical Medicine Department is working hard at the specific direction of Dean Peska to change its curriculum primarily in the PCP 3 course to one which is completely case-based. This late change has been somewhat stressful for faculty members and department administrative leadership to make so many adjustments in a short period of time, but the task will be completed.
The department also continues to actively recruit additional physician clinical faculty members in part-time roles and to increase the time commitments of experienced department faculty members to boost the teaching capacity and administrative leadership with new co-course directors for both first and second year PCP courses. Dr. Ben Gonzales will co-course direct the PCP 3 and PCP 4 courses with department chairman Dr. Rob Goldsteen, and Dr. Sheeba Tano will co-course direct the PCP 1 and PCP 2 courses with Dr. Leah Swift.
The OMM course is also currently recruiting new faculty.
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Department of Physiology and Pathology
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President Hummer Announces the Appointment of Diversity Council Members
Chair:
Justin McHorse, MS, Assistant VP of Diversity and Inclusion
Student Representatives:
Sidra Ali, OMS-II
Rivka Hughes, OMS-II
Faculty Representatives:
Dr. Vanessa De La Rosa, Instructor of Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry
Dr. Nancy Minugh-Purvis, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Staff Representatives:
Miley Grandjean, MA, Educational Specialist
PJ Howlett, Administrative Assistant for Pre-Clinical Education
Community Representative:
Dr. John Andazola, Program Director, Southern New Mexico Family Medicine Residency Program
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Office of Enrollment Services
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Admissions
Interviews for the 2021 cycle will begin in September and will be conducted virtually in the familiar 30-minute, traditional format. The interview day schedule will have extended hours to try to best accommodate interviewer availability and we anticipate hosting as many interviews as previous cycles. With this being a unique cycle, please continue to direct all interested applicants to Admissions for advising.
Office of the Registrar
- The Office of the Registrar continues to work with the IT Department on additions to the CAMS Student Portal, including: the development of documents that require electronic signature, data management, and the refinement of SSRS reports.
- Onboarding of the Class of 2024 continues.
- Preparation is underway for the upcoming National Voter Registration Day and Constitution Day, both of which are required under Title IV. More details to come.
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Advisory Colleges
are off and running.
Click here
to view the Advisory College structure for the 20-21 academic year. Although meetings with faculty and advisees will look a little different than anticipated, students are excited to virtually meet their classmates and advisors.
Virtual Orientation Week
for the Class of 2024 began on Monday, July 13th. We want to express our appreciation and gratitude for all who submitted their session recordings. This unconventional virtual orientation would not have been possible without your efforts. These new students are also scheduled to come in to the campus in small groups to have their ID photos taken, turn in their White Coats and complete other matriculation items.
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Accreditation and Compliance
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The College has several updates to our policies and/or procedures.
- New Policy
- B7525 Compliance Training (Annual Compliance Training Requirement for Employees/Contractors of the College)
- New or Revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- RR.014 Name Change
- FAF.001 Securing Visiting Faculty and Guest Lecturers
- GA.001 Policy Creation, Modification & Maintenance
- GA.003 Standard Operating Procedure Creation, Modification & Maintenance
- GA.006 COVID-19 Related Procedures
- GA.007 Exposure Containment Plan
- GA.008 Modification & Maintenance of Handbooks and Catalog
- GA.009 Testing and Temperature Taking
- GA.010 Bear Beat (New)
- SA.024 Excused Absence Requests Years One and Two
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- Faculty Affairs welcomes Christa Vaudrey as our Faculty Affairs Director!
- Many thanks to Elizabeth Howard for her role in getting Faculty Affairs up and running!
- Faculty appointment renewals for regular faculty and preceptors are complete. Adjunct faculty appointment renewals will be sent out soon.
- The peer review of teaching program will be available this semester to faculty who wish to receive structured feedback, including during remote learning. Reviewers will participate in a training workshop July 16. For more information on the program, please visit the Faculty Affairs website: https://resources.bcomnm.org/peer-feedback/
- We have been working with Dr. Marcy Oxford to provide up-to-date information on technological resources and processes for communication with students and remote teaching. Watch for an updated FAQ and department Q&A sessions during orientation week.
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Here are a few books in the Library’s new anti-racism collection:
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People
Mahzarin R. Banaji
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
Mira Jacob
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Austin Channing Brown
Me and White Supremacy
Layla F. Saad
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out
Ruth King
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
Cathy Park Hong
So You Want to Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Ibram X. Kendi
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Richard Rothstein
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Beverly Daniel Tatum
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Your Faculty Council Leadership team has been appointed for the 2020-21 academic year:
Chair – Kristin Gosselink;
Vice Chair – Miriam Donohue;
Past Chair – Richard Selinfreund;
Secretary – Adrienne Kania;
Parliamentarian – Sheeba Tano
Our goals for the year include increasing communication and fostering trust among faculty and between the faculty and administration. We are in the process of scheduling Faculty Assembly meetings (4) for the year, and look forward to working with you to make sure the faculty have a voice in institutional decision-making and strategic planning. Expect an increased presence in Town Hall meetings, more reporting on committee activities, greater interaction with the Student Government Association and a higher level of interaction with our President and Board of Trustees. We are excited to engage Dr. Pieratt and hear more about his experience, ideas and plans. In the meantime, we wish for continued good health and safety for all.
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“You begin by always expecting good things to happen.”
– Tom Hopkins
“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
– Charles R. Swindoll
“Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit try.”
– Earnest Hemingway
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Laughter Can be the Best Medicine
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A teacher asked her students to use the word "beans" in a sentence. "My father grows beans," said one girl. "My mother cooks beans," said a boy. A third student spoke up, "We are all human beans."
--
Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Officer asks a young engineer fresh out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "And what starting salary are you looking for?" The engineer replies, "In the region of $200,000 a year, depending on the benefits package." The interviewer inquires, "Well, what would you say to a package of five weeks’ vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every two years, say, a red Corvette?" The engineer sits up straight and says, "Wow! Are you kidding?" The interviewer replies, "Yeah, but you started it."
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BEAR:
B
uilding
E
xpectations of
A
lliance and
R
espect
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