As he looked out at the large crowd that gathered at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus on Thursday, March 19, for “An Evening with the Dean,” J. Adrian Tyndall, MD, MPH, FACEP, was reminded of how he felt last year when he visited Kalamazoo as one of four candidates to become the medical school’s next Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO.
“I really recognized that I was in a special place,” Dr. Tyndall said. “My first 14 days here have all but validated that. Working together, we can really make a great impact and I truly believe that there is enormous opportunity here.”
Dr. Tyndall’s remarks were delivered as part of an event that offered donors, state officials and leaders from Western Michigan University (WMU) and the Kalamazoo community, to connect with the medical school’s new dean.
Dr. Tyndall officially took the helm at WMed on Monday, March 2, following more than four years at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta where he served as dean and executive vice president for health services, and in his prior roles as Interim Dean and Associate Vice President at the University of Florida and UF Health.
At the event on March 19, guests shook hands with Dr. Tyndall and got the chance to chat with him briefly as he worked his way through the crowd. The café on the first floor of the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus was filled with the sounds of chatter and laughter as attendees enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and drinks.
WMU President Russ Kavalhuna was the first to deliver remarks at the event, recalling for the crowd how Dr. Tyndall quickly became the clear and unanimous choice among members of the search committee charged with selecting the medical school’s next dean.
“It wasn’t close,” Kavalhuna said. “We have a chance to meet and be behind a world-class leader who can come in here and lift us as an entire region. He cares about this institution, he cares about this region, and we have landed an outstanding person to lead our medical school.”
For his part, Dr. Tyndall said his focus – during his first 100 days and beyond – will be on building strong and enduring relationships with community partners that will fuel the momentum to help achieve WMed’s vision of health equity for all in Southwest Michigan.
“I’m meeting people, I’m learning about the community, I’m learning about what’s possible because from that work, we’ll develop an understanding that will help propel us forward and WMed cannot do it alone,” Dr. Tyndall said. “We need to do it in partnership with everyone.”
As he concluded his remarks during the event, Dr. Tyndall said he appreciated the large turnout, which he called a “display of community” that is indicative of how important WMed is to Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan.
“I’m here in service, I’m here to make an impact, I’m passionate about students,” Dr. Tyndall said. “One day I will have to be replaced and when that day comes, I want to believe I did the work to help create the next generation of leaders and providers and people who will make an impact for WMed and this community.
“There’s no question in my mind that with all the partnerships and the power of what we have here that we can make an impact and move the needle,” he added.