ATLANTA - Medical College of Georgia President Ricardo Azziz received his formal introduction today at the monthly meeting of the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents.
He said, "We are in a bit of a crisis right now, but in a crisis lies the seeds of opportunity. The future of the Medical College of Georgia is rich, and it's going to be proud."
Georgia's state budget is in a less critical crisis than what is facing California where he is leaving to take his MCG post July 1. During a break in the meeting, Azziz described the Georgia situation as more hopeful.
"There are ways to approach an economic crisis. One of them is to retreat," he said. "The other is to decide you're going to continue to grow, to target growth."
He'll determine where to aim that growth once he has a chance to gauge the school's strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and limitations. He'll seek advice from members of the staff, faculty and Augusta community.
One area he wants to see enhanced for its growth potential is cooperation between different academic disciplines in an effort to transfer more developments from the laboratory to patient bedsides. At the same time, he intends to expand MCG's interaction with people across the state, whether through telemedicine or satellite instruction sites, so that the school will become relevant to all Georgians.
After his introduction and brief remarks, individual regents came over to shake hands and offer support.
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