NOSM Holds Board Retreat in Elk Lake

Members Pay Tribute to Departing Chair, Dr. Frederick Gilbert

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its annual Board of Directors retreat in Elk Lake, Ontario from May 6 to May 8, 2010.

At this retreat, Board Directors participated in a special ceremony to recognize Dr. Frederick Gilbert, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and President of Lakehead University, for his exceptional leadership and commitment to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. While serving two terms as NOSM’s Chair of the Board of Directors and one term as Vice Chair, Dr. Gilbert presided over landmark developments at NOSM, and was acknowledged by the Board for his significant part in the creation of the School and his role in the School’s mandate to contribute to improving the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario.

This retreat also provided NOSM Board Directors with the opportunity to bid farewell to three departing executive members of the School: Dr. Marc Blayney, Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Senior Associate Dean of NOSM’s East Campus, Dr. Joel Lanphear, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education and Senior Associate Dean of NOSM’s West Campus, and Dr. Wayne Bruce, Associate Dean of Continuing Health Professional Education. Drs. Blayney, Lanphear and Bruce were thanked for their significant contributions to building Canada’s first medical school for the 21st century.

Mayor of Temiskaming Shores, Judy Pace, addressed the Board Directors prior to dinner on the first evening of the retreat. In her remarks, she expressed her support of the School, noting the important impact NOSM is having on communities across Northern Ontario.

Reeve of Elk Lake, Terry Fiset, attended the Friday evening portion of the Board retreat, where he presented the key to Elk Lake to the Board.

This year’s retreat included several presentations and interactive sessions on the topics of NOSM’s strategic plan, regional hospitals becoming academic centres, and the role of Board Directors.

NOSM Directors also enjoyed visits to the Temiskaming Hospital and the Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming.

At the formal Board meeting on the final day of the retreat, the Directors received reports from Board Committees, including the Finance and Audit, Board Executive, Quality Monitoring, Governance, Nominating, and Advancement Committees. The Directors also received reports from the School’s Academic Council, Archives Reference Group, Aboriginal Reference Group, and Francophone Reference Group.

A 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for NOSM was approved by the Board. The next evolutionary phase of NOSM, guided by the Plan, will build on the School’s achievements to position NOSM to be a leader both nationally and internationally as an innovator in distributed, learner-centred, community-engaged education and research. The Board expressed appreciation for the extensive work that was completed by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the many contributors to the Plan.

The Directors received a Financial Report for the 11-month period ending March 31, 2010 from the Finance and Audit Committee. The Board approved a recommendation from the Finance and Audit Committee that tuition fees for the 2010-2011 academic year be increased by 4%.

In addition, the Board approved the proposed balanced budget of $39.2 million for the fiscal year May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011, as presented.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for September 22, 2010.