Educational Recognition Awards, Last Lecture celebrate UMass Chan’s collaborative environment

The UMass Chan Medical School Educational Recognition Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 7, celebrated achievements by faculty of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and T.H. Chan School of Medicine. 

Mary Munson, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, vice chair for diversity in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology and associate vice provost for equity in science in the Office of Health Equity, received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Mary Callery O’Brien, MD, associate professor of medicine, who received the 2024 Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching, delivered the annual honorary Last Lecture. 

The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring is awarded annually to a faculty member who best exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding mentor to colleagues, students, trainees and UMass Chan community members. 

“In the world of mentoring, Dr. Munson, you’re an undeniable rock star. Your name has become synonymous with the role of mentor,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins. “Your fingerprints are evident on virtually all mentorship initiatives, and in fact, you’ve spearheaded some of our signature programs that have contributed profoundly to the enriching collaboration and welcoming academic environment for which UMass Chan has become so well known.”

The Last Lecture provides the recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching the opportunity to share a message with students and colleagues as if it were the last lecture they would ever give. At UMass Chan, the honor of delivering it is given to the recipient of the prior year’s Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching, in this case, Dr. O’Brien. The award is presented annually to a faculty member who has fostered students’ personal, intellectual and professional development. Recipients are nominated by faculty members and selected by the chancellor.

During O’Brien’s lecture, “Helping to Shape the Future of Health Care: The Multifaceted Roles of the Teacher in Advancing Medical Education,” she reflected on her more than 30-year journey in medical education, emphasizing the importance of embracing new discoveries, change and the needs of learners. O’Brien outlined key pillars of excellence in medical education, including evidence-based learning models, simulation, active learning, technology, collaboration, lifelong learning and diversity. 

“So many of my students and residents have asked me why I chose to come to UMass Chan, and why I have stayed, and the answer is and has always been, that education is held in the highest esteem here at UMass Chan, not just in a lofty mission statement, but I’ve witnessed it here in the trenches every day,” O’Brien said.  

O’Brien is also the recipient of the 2024 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching, a $10,000 award established by former UMass Board Chair Robert Manning and his wife, Donna Manning, both of whom are UMass alums. The prize honors one outstanding faculty member from each of the five UMass campuses. 

New this year, the T.H. Chan School of Medicine presented the Deborah DeMarco Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education to Elizabeth A. Murphy, MD, associate professor of medicine.  

Deans’ and faculty awards were presented by Joan Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair of Nursing, dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing; Anne Larkin, MD, associate professor of surgery and vice provost and senior associate dean for educational affairs; Mary Ellen Lane, PhD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Biomedical Sciences, dean of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine; and Erin McMaster, MD’96, associate professor of pediatrics, and Lela Giannaris, PhD, associate professor radiology, co-chairs of the Educational Policy Committee. 

Watch the full awards ceremony and Last Lecture on the UMass Chan Medical School YouTube channel.