Welcome from VP-Dean Lesley Fellows
Universities are amazing places where people come together to create new knowledge and teach it to the next generation, who will do the same. This virtuous cycle means that, every day, we are investing in a brighter future: together, we will understand more, prepare our students to build on this understanding and harness the knowledge to make things better. This, to me, is especially inspiring in a Faculty like ours, with a mission to understand health and illness, improve clinical care and policy and, ultimately, help save lives.
Our work is immediately meaningful. We see its impact through our patients, our students and our research in real time. While healthcare and the science that underpins it rely on technology that is ever more sophisticated, the notion of humanity remains at the core of what we do. This is true whether in our local communities or around the world.
The combination of world-leading science and a commitment to excellence in clinical care led me to join McGill鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. I chose to stay because of the amazing people I get to work with: talented, diverse and highly engaged learners, faculty and staff, in the clinic, in the lab, in the office and in the classroom.
Serving society
I consider it a privilege to be a part of this Faculty. We live in interesting and challenging times, with large-scale pressures and big picture issues that must be tackled and, we hope, resolved. Many of these challenges are global, and we have the international presence and expertise to contribute to solving such problems on a large scale. Some are closer to home: we are also deeply committed to fulfill our responsibilities to the local communities we serve. Indeed, these are mutually reinforcing efforts.
The health needs of those living in Quebec and across Canada are priorities, ones that require us to work in partnership with hospital centres, research institutes, universities and other organizations that share the same calling. We must also take ownership of our failings, particularly those that have excluded or harmed members of historically marginalized communities. Effectively serving our community means engaging with humility, openness and purpose with all its members. A Faculty that is centred on care must aspire to nothing less.
The pursuit of excellence
I am proud, as a McGill alumna and clinician-scientist, of this Faculty鈥檚 work and mission, but we know we have more to do, to do better, to meet the world鈥檚 evolving challenges. We are committed to excellence, which is an ongoing pursuit.
As I begin my tenure, I look forward to meeting with and listening to the members of this Faculty, our allies and partners, to more fully understand how we can best advance our mission together, saving lives and improving health. We are doing important work, and I am excited for what lies ahead.
To all who may be new to the McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, welcome! I hope you, too, will be inspired.
Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil, FRCPC
Vice-President (Health Affairs)
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences