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Allegro e Appassionato


one last time the notes for the talk he's about to give. When Dartmouth College President James Wright arrives, Spielberg has a smile and a handshake for him. A succession of faculty members who are also on the morning's program file in, and Spielberg greets each one. The first-year students—a happy, noisy horde—have by now filled most of the seats in the auditorium.

Spielberg steps to the lectern. "Good morning," he says. "This is one of the most exciting days here at the Medical School, [the others] being Class Day and Commencement." He's setting the tempo: upbeat, energetic. Just before he introduces Wright, he reminds all the students that he's hosting a picnic for them that evening at the Dartmouth Skiway. "Dress casual," he advises.

Then Spielberg sits down in the front row and beams proudly as assorted deans and administrators take turns speaking. The mood is joyful, welcoming, nurturing. Lori Alvord, M.D., associate dean for student and multicultural affairs, says, "We'll take care of you." Osborne reassures the first-years that they're now part of the Dartmouth "family." O'Donnell calls himself the students' "dream-maker," promising to help them realize their dreams in medicine and in life. Spielberg has to hurry off to another meeting before the show is over, but his fellow deans have matters well in hand.

Thursday, September 23, 11:00 a.m.
Main Rotunda at DHMC

Today, several officials from the University of Vermont (UVM)—including the president, Daniel Fogel, Ph.D., and the dean of the medical school, John Evans, Ph.D.—are visiting DHMC. Spielberg and several other Dartmouth officials greet them in the main rotunda of the Medical Center. The first order of the day for the visitors is a tour of DHMC's new Doctors' Office Building and Cancer Center labs. As the group starts the tour, Spielberg and Charles Mannix, DMS's chief operating officer, peel off to hold a quick meeting.

allegro_02.jpg

Spielberg, center, and other DHMC officials greet a group of visitors from the University of Vermont who have come down for a tour of newly opened lab and clinical buildings at DHMC and for a discussion about possible areas of collaboration between the schools.

After the tour, Spielberg and Mannix rejoin the group in a conference room at the Cancer Center for sandwiches, cookies, and soft drinks. Several different conversations are in progress. Soon a more formal dialogue begins. "The fun thing about working in multiple environments [is] picking up different approaches," Spielberg says. Since earning a Ph.D. in pharmacology and an M.D. from the University of Chicago, and training as a pediatrician, he has worked at Boston Children's Hospital, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Johns Hopkins, the University of Toronto, Merck Research Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, and, as of July 2003, DMS.

Evans, Spielberg's UVM counterpart, wants to know what it was like working in the pharmaceutical industry. Everyone waits expectantly for the answer. Spielberg jokes that there are lots of pediatricians at pharmaceutical companies because "they're so good at dealing with childish behavior." Everyone laughs.

Then he turns serious. Industry focuses on "putting teams together, rather than individuals pursuing curiosity," explains Spielberg. Industry also emphasizes applied science, and there's a greater sense of urgency about getting results from research.

The group talks about the need to reengineer research in the academic environment. "We need scientists who can view molecules and cells and organisms together," Spielberg says. They also discuss changes in the way anatomy is being taught; hiring policies—the struggle to achieve a balance between bringing in senior faculty with a track record and solid research funding, versus identifying promising junior faculty; institutional e-mail systems and computing capacity; international partnerships; and the high cost of medical journals.

"We've asked our library about a consortium with Dartmouth [for] joint buying," says Evans. That idea hasn't been implemented yet, but UVM and DMS are cooperating in other areas. "This is a time for a lot of creativity in medicine," Spielberg tells the visitors. "I'd love to come up and visit you."

Spielberg's UVM counterpart wants to know what it was like working in the pharmaceutical industry. Spielberg jokes that there are lots of pediatricians at pharmaceutical companies because "they're so good at dealing with childish behavior."

Tuesday, September 28, 10:00 a.m.
New York City

The dean is in New York to visit a donor and is scheduled to fly to Boston that afternoon so he can deliver grand rounds the next day at Children's Hospital. On the run, he calls Hanover to ask his assistant, Didit Martinez, to hire a car to meet him at Boston's Logan Airport so he won't have to wait in the cab line. Martinez makes the arrangements and calls him back. "Meet the driver on the upper level," she tells him. They chat briefly about how things have gone in New York. "So call if you need anything else," Martinez says. As busy as he is, Spielberg has only one assistant to keep him organized (compared to three or four for some of his counterparts elsewhere).

Monday, October 4, 5:30 p.m.
Fuller Board Room at DHMC


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