Making a House a Home

Building a new campus doesn’t end with construction. As the dust settles at our new San Francisco home, we are still coordinating with contractors and navigating new systems. What does that look like on a daily basis? You’ll find us fine-tuning the audiovisual system, mapping out the best routes on Muni, Yelping new lunch spots and showing patients how to check in with our digital kiosks. There have been coffee spills and fire drills. Things may get hectic at times, but it’s all part of making a house a home.

Throughout the process of settling into our new building, I’m grateful to the Dugoni School family for coming together to problem-solve and persevere. Thank you to the everyday heroes who have stepped forward, offered their time and expertise or have filled new roles when opportunities arose. Many have worked late nights and early mornings to make sure that our building is up and running.

All homes have stories of transition. During our final days at Webster Street, Dr. Gene LaBarre shared a lovely tribute to our home in Pacific Heights, and we reprint it here as a reminder of the intangible qualities that make a house a home.

In this issue, we also showcase individuals who offer various perspectives on transformation and transition. You’ll find a profile on Berry Coleman, a long-time security staff member, who worked at 155 Fifth Street when it was a bank data center many years ago and has come full circle to help protect the same building, now renovated for a new purpose.

One quality we hold close to our hearts is our dedication to humanism. You’ll read about The Pacific Promise initiative to enhance customer service for patients and further develop practice-ready graduates. This issue also profiles several of our recent graduates who are making an impact around the country.

We are excited to announce some new developments in our “Building Our Future, Embracing Our Legacy” fundraising campaign. The Dugoni School family has rallied to raise more than $20 million, more than halfway to our $40 million goal. It’s an impressive show of support for the future of our school. I encourage you to stop by our campus to see the results of your support.

We may be in a new location, but our alumni and friends will always have a place to call home in San Francisco.

Patrick J. Ferrillo

Dr. Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr.
Dean