The Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO
Almost three months ago, I arrived in Kalamazoo to begin my work as the Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. I want to begin this note with something simple and heartfelt. Thank you. The warmth of the welcome I have received has been extraordinary. From the moment I stepped onto the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, through every meeting, every clinic visit, every conversation in a hallway or after an event, I have been struck by the openness and generosity of this community.
These past several weeks have given me the opportunity to meet many of you and to spend time in our departments, our clinics, our research labs, our classrooms, and our partner organizations. What I have come to understand most clearly is that the energy of WMed is its people. The skill, the dedication, the intellectual curiosity, the compassion, and the commitment to the mission and to one another that I have witnessed at every level of this institution is what fuels our momentum. It is what makes the work we do meaningful, and it gives me great confidence in what we can build together. The human capacity and potential that lives within this community is our most valuable resource, and it is the foundation upon which everything else rests.
I want to share some early reflections from my time so far. I am still learning. This is a beginning, and the more I learn, the more I appreciate the depth, history, and complexity of what makes WMed who we are. With that humility in mind, here is what I have come to see.
The opportunities before us are significant. WMed sits in a community with an extraordinary legacy of medical and scientific innovation. From the pioneering pharmaceutical work of Dr. William E. Upjohn to the surgical innovation of Dr. Homer Stryker, this region has long been a place where medicine, science, and ingenuity converge. That legacy is a foundation upon which we are called to build. This confluence of academic medicine, clinical excellence, and community partnership found in Southwest Michigan is rare, and the possibilities it creates are substantial. I see WMed positioned to serve as a central convener of health equity education, research, and innovation for our region, working in concert with our partners to translate discovery into practice and practice into impact for the patients and families we serve.
There are also challenges we must face honestly. Like every academic medical institution in the country, we operate within a complex and shifting healthcare landscape with financial, workforce, and structural pressures that require thoughtful and disciplined leadership. These challenges are not insurmountable, though they will require focus, partnership, and the willingness to make deliberate choices about where we invest and how we grow.
In thinking about the path ahead, I want to share a few of the priorities that have begun to take shape for me.
First, our learners and the quality of their education must remain at the center of everything we do. From the moment a student arrives here as a first-year medical student, through their clinical years, residency, and into independent practice, our responsibility is to form excellent clinicians who are also thoughtful, principled physicians reflecting the values of this institution. The continued strength of our educational mission is among the most important commitments we make.
Second, we must focus on the sustainability of our systems. This work is essential, even when it is not glamorous. It means strengthening the financial, operational, and infrastructural foundations that allow our educational, clinical, and research missions to thrive. It means making decisions today that protect and expand our capacity for impact 10 and 20 years from now.
Third, we must continue to recruit and retain extraordinary talent. WMed’s future depends on the people we bring into and keep in this community, including faculty, staff, and learners at every level. Attracting talent does not begin at the point of recruitment. It begins at the earliest stages of education in our region, at the K-12 level, by building a talent pathway that introduces young people to the possibilities of medicine and science, that nurtures their curiosity, and that creates routes into our profession from within the communities we serve. A talent pathway that is rich, diverse, and sustainable is the bedrock of long-term institutional impact; we must be one of the best places to work and learn to retain these people and sustain that impact.
Fourth, we must renew and re-energize our partnerships with our partners, Western Michigan University, Beacon Health, and Bronson Healthcare. These relationships are foundational to our identity as an academic medical institution and we partner with greatness. Since I arrived in Kalamazoo, Beacon Kalamazoo achieved the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ from Healthgrades, Bronson Methodist Hospital was named a 100 Top Hospital® by Premier, Inc., and WMU announced the Bronco Bound Guarantee, creating more of those very pathways for the next potential leaders of health equity for all in Southwest Michigan. Together, we have a rare opportunity to build something lasting. Each partner brings something essential, and together we are more than the sum of our parts. A renewed and re-energized commitment to these partnerships will be central to what we accomplish in the years ahead.
What I see in my early observations is an institution with extraordinary momentum, an extraordinary community, and an extraordinary opportunity to lead. I am genuinely looking forward to being part of the next decade of WMed’s evolution. We will continue to climb to greater heights in pursuit of health equity and one health for all in Southwest Michigan. That mission is the reason this institution exists, and it is the standard by which we should measure every decision we make.
Thank you again for the welcome, for the work you do every day, and for trusting me to walk alongside you in this next chapter. I am proud to be part of this community. I am energized by what lies ahead. And I am eager to continue this journey with all of you.
With gratitude,
J. Adrian Tyndall, MD, MPH, FACEP
The Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO