The Spring Faculty Retreat, which will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, focuses on “Building Bridges” in the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine. Programming will touch on:

  • Building academic bridges within and between our four divisions
  • Building bridges to the future of our department in areas of basic and translational science
  • Celebrating who we are, where we have been, and what we can become

Rationales for the Retreat

  • We have made major progress in variety of areas since the Retreat for the Strategic Plan, including important areas of faculty development, education, organizational structure, and departmental communication.
  • We have survived, continued to thrive, and contributed in significant ways to the challenges of the pandemic.
  • We have many new and junior faculty eager to advance their academic careers.
  • We are the only official basic science and clinical department, which provides unique opportunities to carry work from bench to bedside.
  • A major strategic priority for the department is enhanced interdivisional interactions and nearly all effective interactions are built on professional and personal relationships

Our Facilitators

Our Building Bridges facilitators are Dr. Eva Aagaard, Vice Chancellor for Medical Education and Senior Associate Dean for Education at Washington University School of Medicine, and Dr. Nichole Zehnder, Associate Dean for Educational Strategy at Washington University School of Medicine. Drs. Aagaard and Zehnder have co-facilitated a variety of departmental and other academic retreats.

Dr. Aagaard is a noted physician and educator who is committed to excellence and collaboration across scientific and medical disciplines. She joined Washington University School of Medicine in 2017 as Senior Associate Dean for Education. Dr. Aagaard’s philosophy reflects the School of Medicine’s educational mission that has distinguished it as one of the nation’s premier medical schools.

Dr. Zehnder is an experienced clinician educator, coach, and facilitator. She is committed to training the next generation of leaders in biomedicine and creating environments where learning occurs deliberately and experientially. Dr. Zehnder joined Washington University School of Medicine in 2020 as the Associate Dean for Educational Strategy and also serves as the Director of the Gateway Coaching Program.

Retreat Information

Date: May 6, 2023

Location: Knight Center on the WU Danforth Campus

Parking: Parking is free for the day.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Erika Crouch.