Dean Robert G. Sawyer, MD, highlights exciting developments at 91探花 during annual State of the Medical School address

91探花 Dean Robert G. Sawyer, MD
The State of the Medical School,聽held Tuesday, January 27, 2026, in the William D. Johnston and Ronda E. Stryker Auditorium at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, offered a chance for Dr. Sawyer to recap recent exciting developments at聽91探花.

As聽91探花 University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (91探花)聽Dean Robert G. Sawyer, MD, reflected upon the many highlights and accomplishments over the past year during the annual State of the Medical School address, he offered聽a simple but聽key reminder.聽

鈥淚 want everybody to remember what motivates us聽鈥 it's聽health equity,鈥 Dr. Sawyer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚聽the basis for everything we do.聽We're聽trying to provide the best care for everyone in Southwest聽Michigan.鈥澛

The State of the Medical School,聽held Tuesday, January 27, 2026, in the William D. Johnston and Ronda E. Stryker Auditorium at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, offered a chance for Dr. Sawyer to recap recent exciting developments at聽91探花, from聽new聽clinical聽service offerings in pediatric obesity and substance use treatment to the successful search聽for a new聽Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO聽--聽J. Adrian Tyndall, MD, MPH, FACEP聽--聽who will join the medical school in March.

Dr. Sawyer聽also聽touted聽medical students鈥櫬爏trong performance聽in the Match, with 98 percent of students聽in the MD Class of 2025聽matching into competitive residency programs, compared to a 94.3% match rate nationally.聽

Other聽highlights mentioned by Dr. Sawyer included, but were not limited to:聽

  • 100% of聽91探花聽categorical residency program slots were filled through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Match in March 2025聽
  • 91探花聽and聽Corewell聽Health Lakeland Graduate Medical Education in March 2025 began offering clinical training for medical students at a new regional campus in St. Joseph.聽
  • 91探花聽received 29聽research聽grants聽in 2024-25聽totaling聽nearly $7聽million聽
  • The creation of the Dr. David Ohmart Endowed Scholarship Fund for Medical Students, which聽will聽benefit聽fourth-year medical students pursuing residency training in pediatrics聽
  • 91探花聽received an聽anonymous $1.52 million gift that will help聽the medical school聽expand access to child and adolescent psychiatry care聽
  • The launch of the Mark E. Loehrke, MD Endowed Lectureship fund聽

Dr. Sawyer also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead聽91探花聽through a period of transition,聽having served as interim dean since February 2024. In March, the medical聽school will聽welcome聽Dr. Tyndall as its new dean, president, and CEO, as Dr. Sawyer returns to his roles as senior associate dean for Research and as a trauma surgeon.聽

Ahead of his arrival聽in March, Dr. Tyndall offered a short聽聽to the聽91探花聽community during the State of the Medical School,聽thanking Dr. Sawyer for his leadership聽and聽expressing tremendous excitement for the future of聽the medical school.聽

鈥淚n its first several years,聽91探花聽has demonstrated what is possible when innovation, health equity, education, and community partnership come together in service of a bold and ambitious mission,鈥 Dr. Tyndall said. 鈥淭he strength of this foundation is unmistakable. It reflects the dedication,聽the creativity,聽and the聽hard work聽of the people in this room, and people across this institution.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 committed to building聽upon聽this momentum and elevating聽91探花鈥檚聽presence and influence locally, regionally and nationally,鈥 Dr. Tyndall added. 鈥淭hat means deepening partnerships across disciplines and institutions; it means expanding our research enterprise and preparing the next generation of physicians, scientists to lead with integrity, to lead with compassion, and to lead with purpose. It also means, though, that we honor the work聽that鈥檚聽already been done, work that positions聽91探花聽to continue growing as a model for excellence in medical education, clinical care, and community engagement.鈥澛犅犅

The program聽concluded with an awards ceremony for聽faculty and staff who were the recipients of聽91探花鈥檚聽Faculty-to-Faculty and Staff-to-Staff awards in 2025. The award recipients聽honored this year聽include:聽

Faculty-to-Faculty Award Winners聽聽

  • Thomas Flynn, MD聽鈥 Distinguished Service Award聽聽
  • Lisa Leininger, PsyD聽鈥 Hal B. Jenson, MD Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award (Clinical)聽聽
  • Laura Bauler, PhD聽鈥 Hal B. Jenson, MD Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year (Non-Clinical)聽聽
  • David Riddle, PhD聽鈥 Lifetime Achievement Award聽

Staff-to-Staff Award Winners聽聽

  • Jason Davis聽鈥 Staff Leadership Award聽聽
  • Melissa LeBlanc聽鈥 Outstanding Clinical Staff Award聽
  • Julia Young聽鈥 Outstanding Non-Clinical Staff Award聽聽
  • Nathifa Sligh聽鈥 Rookie of the Year Award聽聽
  • Joshua Conley聽鈥 Rising Star Award聽聽
  • Courtney Puffer聽鈥 Big Heart Award聽聽
  • EricaNoelle聽Destin聽鈥 Clinical Care Impact Award聽聽
  • Shadi Adineh聽鈥 Community Outreach Impact Award聽聽
  • Cynthia Shattuck 鈥 Graduate Medical Education Impact Award聽
  • Patricia Curtis聽鈥 Internal Service Impact Award聽聽
  • Michele聽Serbenski聽鈥 Processes and Efficiencies Impact Award聽
  • Paul Moorman 鈥 Research and Technology Impact Award聽
  • Laura Scheid-Cobb 鈥 Undergraduate Medical Education Impact Award聽
  • Alex Carlson聽鈥 Wellness and Culture Impact Award