A Message from the President

In 1891, the year UTMB came into being, Texas was a far different place. The gusher at Spindletop was still a decade away, so farming and ranching were the state’s primary engines of economic activity. The previous year’s census tallied a scant 2.2 million residents.

But even at that early moment in the state’s history, its leading citizens recognized the need for a medical school of the highest rank. They knew such an institution had to mirror the state’s pioneering spirit: the hunger to push forward the frontier, the yearning to make things new.

Over the past century, much has changed in Texas and UTMB has kept pace. Our graduates have helped define health care everywhere they practice. Our hospitals and clinics have been a source of life and hope. And our research programs have advanced the boundaries of biomedical knowledge.

How we respond to the immense challenges of health care’s new century hinges on the investment of alumni and friends.

The challenges are many. How do we insulate people worldwide from the scourge of infectious disease? How do we broaden access to health care? How do we mine the riches of the human genetic code to forge new approaches to conquering illness and injury? How do we help elders live healthier and more fulfilling lives? And how do we guide tomorrow’s health care pioneers to see their careers as a fundamentally human pursuit?

Through the Timeless Values, Pioneering Solutions campaign, we commit ourselves to meeting these challenges. But we strive to do so in a way that honors the values on which this institution was built—service, education, innovation, diversity and community—which are every bit as vital as the bricks and mortar that form the campus’ physical plant. As you ponder your own involvement in the campaign, I encourage you to consider how your generosity can help those values live for a new century.

John D. Stobo, M.D.
President