February has proven to be a noteworthy month for GW Health Sciences as we kicked off our Strategic Plan 2020-2022 with two events last week. First, about 75 faculty, staff, and students rolled up their sleeves – and donned hairnets – to prepare and package 15,000 meals to combat hunger. The February 19thproject with Rise Against Hunger showed our strong division-wide commitment to Living Our Social Mission, one of four focus areas in the strategic plan. Now, each department will carry forth with other service initiatives. If you are interested in joining an HS group to regularly volunteer at one of the local food banks, please reach out to Amy King aking@gwu.edu or Teri Capshaw tcapshaw@gwu.edu. The second focus area addressed last week was Investing in People. A group of faculty, staff, high school teachers, plus students and families from the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy at T.C. Williams High School cheered the GW men’s basketball team Saturday against LaSalle University. GW didn’t prevail, but HS won big as we shared a fun extracurricular event – and on George’s 288th birthday, by the way. Students enjoyed meeting President LeBlanc, who greeted attendees and asked about their studies. An Academy student, who also plays JV basketball at T.C. Williams, showed off his impressive skills during a free throw exhibition. 
The day started with an educational session in the Lerner Center, where Robert Turner of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership (CRL) shared his journey from being a student athlete in high school to playing in the NFL to his current role as a researcher. Kevin O’Conner of HS Administration also took part, speaking to the Academy students about the importance of character. Two events are now in the books, but there’s more important work ahead for our strategic plan. The sky is the limit for the impact we’ll have to drive innovation and quality in health and health care delivery through education, scholarship, and service. Thanks to all who have participated so far! #GWHealthSciencesStrategicPlan #LivingOurSocialMission, #InvestinginPeople, #InfluencingHealthProfessionsEducation,HealthCarePolicyandPractice, #CatalyzingInnovationandEntrepreneurism.
The George Washington University
