**A message from Dr. Raymond Yung, Director of the Geriatrics Center and Institute of Gerontology, and Chief of the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine**
Dear Colleagues:
As many of you are aware, we were one of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence in Geriatrics (Hartford CoE), until the program was terminated around 5 years ago. Funds from the UM Hartford CoE were used to provide modest salary support to ‘Hartford Scholars’. In addition to instructional (tenure) track junior faculty, many Hartford Scholars were clinician educators, selected for their potential to become future academic leaders in geriatrics.
I am pleased to announce we have now established a similar, but more modest, program- the Albert G. and Olive H. Schlink Foundation Clinician Scholars Award. Each year, the program will provide modest salary (up to 10%) support for 1 faculty for a period of 6 months to 1 year, to enable the ‘Schlink Scholar’ modest protected time to advance their academic/research pursuits. The program will initially target junior clinical faculty, especially those who are going up for promotion in the next 2-3 years. I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Shen Dewar is the inaugural recipient of this Award. Shen will be using the protected effort to pursue her clinical research related to obesity in older adults. Please join me in congratulating Shen.
Best,
Ray