• Patient Care
• Education
• Research
• Community Engagement
• For Referring Physicians
• Find a Physician
• About Us

• Libraries
• Alumni
• Giving
• Departments & Centers
• Home

• The Plan at a Glance
• Overarching Goals
• Signature Programs
• Key Investments
• Dentistry and Nursing Strategic Plans
• CGR's Economic Impact Analysis
• Ask a Question

A Message from CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D.

More than 80 years ago, well-known educator Abraham Flexner’s revolutionary report, Medical Education in the United States and Canada, proposed a vision of university-based medical education that would support the powerful interaction of three distinct but interrelated missions:  scientific inquiry, learning, and patient care.  When he looked to establish a medical school based on his philosophy in New York, Flexner told then University President Rush Rhees that the University of Rochester presented an ideal place for “a medical school of the highest order.”

What does it take to create Medicine of the Highest Order?  That question forms the nucleus of our new strategic plan.  And we found the answer in our roots:  innovation, collaboration, and the ability to convert new basic science discoveries into novel therapies.

The University of Rochester Medical Center’s 2007-2012 Strategic Plan charts the course by which this Medical Center will transform from a regional medical center to a nationally respected magnet for research, teaching, patient care, and community service.  It is a recipe for building strategically on our history and strengths, capturing the flow of scientific ideas to benefit patients throughout the northeastern United States. It sets clear priorities as it calls for the boldest investment in expertise, facilities and programs since the founding of this Medical Center.  This plan promises to extend the quality and breadth of our region’s health care, as it strengthens our regional economy. 

We are better positioned than most other medical centers to seize this opportunity.  Given our vibrant scientific portfolio, robust patient care services, financial stability, an eagerly supportive community, and the confidence of national funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health, never before has the promise of our collective planning been brighter.  Because it bears the fingerprints of Abraham Flexner, I’m convinced that this plan will continue our path to Medicine of the Highest Order.