Report Details HMS Priorities

Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey S. Flier released the final version of his strategic planning report last week, concluding the first phase of a process launched last fall.

Flier has identified five priorities for the Medical School as the institution embarks on the next stage of the strategic planning process. The areas of focus detailed in the 20-page report include revamping medical education initiatives, investing in biomedical research and the latest technologies, and breaking down barriers to increase collaboration and build a more unified community.

Though the impact of the financial crisis on University finances will affect the pace at which the Medical School proceeds in implementing proposed initiatives, Flier said that the strategic plan will help the Medical School focus on its priorities.

It is unclear how hard the University endowment—one of Harvard’s primary sources of revenue, which was valued at $36.9 billion as of last June—has been hit, but University President Drew G. Faust cautioned in a letter to the community earlier this month that each school will need to tighten its belt in the coming months.

The Medical School holds roughly 11.7 percent of the University endowment, or $4.32 billion, as of last June.

Though Flier said that the Medical School will need to “make some hard decisions and difficult tradeoffs” in response to the impact of the turbulent economic climate, the Medical School is “strong and secure” at this point.

In the coming months, Flier and his colleagues will determine which initiatives to prioritize as part of the next phase of the strategic planning process,

“Since we have learned a great deal about our strengths and weaknesses and have prioritized our opportunities for moving ahead,” Flier wrote in a letter to the community last week, “we are well positioned to make a strong case to potential supporters.”

The Harvard Corporation—the University’s highest governing board—reviewed the results of the strategic planning process early this month, and Flier said that the board members expressed strong support for the overall recommendations.

Flier wrote in the report that financing ongoing and proposed initiatives will be one of the largest challenges facing the Medical School.

“Science is expensive, yet we want to attract and retain the best faculty, give them the tools to succeed, and support them in a vigorous and exciting environment,” Flier wrote.

The turbulent economic climate only exacerbates the challenges to researchers at universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health has been frozen in recent years, meaning that it has declined in real terms.

The Medical School’s expansion into Allston is an example of a cross-institution effort that will prove to be a major challenge.

Flier, who regularly meets with the Allston Development Group, said that the size, scope, and pacing of the science program in Allston is under continuous discussion.

Construction for the first science building in Allston, which began this spring, is slated to near completion in July 2011. It is unclear whether this date will be postponed as the University assesses current spending. The science complex will house the Medical School’s Systems Biology Department—an institute for bioengineering primarily funded by a $125 million gift from Harvard Business School graduate Hansjörg Wyss—the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Stem Cell Regenerative Biology Department, a joint venture between the Medical School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“Although we view this campus as an important investment in the life sciences,” Flier wrote, “the financial commitments it will require are enormous.”

—Staff writer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.