After the Eagles' Super Bowl victory so much happiness spread over greater Philadelphia it may have actually altered our sense of ourselves. I pondered how the feeling of winning shapes our identity. Cities use their sports teams to rally civic pride, because who doesn't want to be seen as a winner?
And, not to be glib, but Philadelphians can (on occasion) have an identity crisis when our sports teams are not competitive. But recently we have won the Super Bowl, Villanova's men's basketball won the NCAA championship, the ascending 76ers reached the playoffs, and the Phillies have one of the best records in MLB; and while we are on a roll, and as much as I love winning sports championships, I know it is not the most dependable way to ensure civic pride.
This thought came to me recently while presenting to city business and political leaders the Federal Drug Administration's approval of four different cell and gene therapies created at Penn and CHOP for combating cancers and diseases. In short, what these medical researchers do is extract the healthy cells of a sick patient, reprogram them, and return them into the patient where the healthy cells defeat diseases such as Leukemia or congenital blindness, to name two examples. One FDA approval in this field is a milestone, and four FDA approvals is a medical revolution. The combination of adult and pediatric care makes us specialized and unique. Talk about a winning season.
This pioneering medical work advances on our campus and in our facilities each day because it is supported by the critical administrative and support systems you lead. You keep our operations running smooth and successful. You purchase the equipment. You create and maintain the buildings and grounds, while keeping them efficient and safe. You ensure departments have the proper business and technological systems in place to process the needed financial resources from sponsored research and philanthropy. You hire and train the staff making sure they are paid and benefits are delivered; creating a quality work life experience. You are the backbone for realizing Penn's mission.
In medical circles Penn is known for these groundbreaking victories in Cell and Gene Therapy, but it is the new business ventures translating these into drugs and therapies for the healthcare marketplace that could be a real game changer. Because of the teams at Penn and CHOP, we could be the city that attracts and builds the companies that produce more drugs for more doctors to heal more patients. The world could see Philadelphia as a perennially winning city because of Penn's cutting edge victories where they count the most - advancing knowledge to tackle society's most difficult challenges.
I hope you share the same sense of pride I have for being a member of this incredible team.
Best wishes for an enjoyable summer,
Craig
