Kern Gifts Support Transformational Health Professions Education and Named Chairs
A major milestone in MCW’s journey to lead the way in transformational health professions education was the establishment of the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education (Kern Institute) in early 2017, made possible by an exceptionally generous gift of $37.8 million by the Kern Family and the Kern Family Foundation. This was the largest individual noncorporate gift ever given to MCW.
In addition, Stephen and Shelagh Roell provided a substantial gift to establish the Stephen and Shelagh Roell Endowed Chair of the Kern Institute.
These transformative gifts demonstrate how philanthropic partnerships enable MCW to drive innovation and solutions.
The Kern Institute is dedicated to advancing a new foundation for medical education based on character, competence and caring. It is advancing innovation by applying human-centered design methodology and the principles of the entrepreneurial mindset: curiosity, connections and creating value. The Kern Institute is dedicated to working with faculty, students and the curriculum to foster culture and systems change.
The Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine (KNN), of which MCW is a member, helps ensure that the innovations developed through the Kern Institute – and collaboratively with its KNN partner schools – are positioned for adoption nationally into medical education.
The KNN is a collaboration of seven medical schools committed to building on each other’s strengths to drive innovation and advance nationwide transformation in educating learners across the continuum, from pre-medical school through to physician practice. The partner schools are: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine; Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine; University of California San Francisco School of Medicine; University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School; University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Longtime donors to MCW, the Kerns contributed $500,000 in 1999 to match a gift from Richard A. Van Deuren to establish the Joan Van Deuren Professorship in Cancer Research. Ten years later, the Kerns donated $10 million to establish the Dr. Robert D. and Dr. Patricia E. Kern Professorship in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and for overall support of biomedical research, education and collaboration.
New Kern Director
Adina Luba Kalet, MD, MPH, joined the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education as director on September 1, 2019. She succeeded founding director Cheryl A. Maurana, PhD. Dr. Kalet also was awarded the Stephen and Shelagh Roell Endowed Chair.
Dr. Kalet has more than 25 years of experience leading innovation, scholarship and research to prepare excellent physicians. From 2014-2019, Dr. Kalet served as founding co-director of the Program for Medical Education Innovation and Research at the NYU School of Medicine.
In May 2019, Dr. Kalet received the Society for General Internal Medicine’s Career Achievements in Medical Education Award, which recognizes an outstanding clinician-educator whose lifetime contributions have profoundly advanced, and have widespread impact on, the art and science of medicine and medical education.
Source: 2019 MCW Annual Report