Worcester Business Journal applauds UMass Medical School leaders for contributions to local economy
The Worcester Business Journal has named UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael F. Collins and Kola Akindele, JD, assistant vice chancellor for city and community relations, to its Power 50 Class of 2020. The annual list recognizes the region鈥檚 leaders in business sectors, including health and education, who wield the greatest positive influence on the Central Massachusetts economy.
Since Chancellor Collins assumed the top executive role at UMMS in 2007, the school鈥檚 endowment has grown to $222 million in 2018. The nearly $1.5 billion in National Institutes of Health funding the institution has garnered over the past decade has made UMMS a driver of the region鈥檚 biomedical sciences research and development sector. Beyond overseeing institutional advancement, outreach and other efforts, Collins contributes to the Worcester educational and economic engine as a board member for UMass Memorial Health Care, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts.
Akindele, a lifelong Worcester resident, ensures that UMass Medical School is deeply connected to the community. He has expanded the impact of UMMS throughout Worcester by leveraging institutional expertise and resources for the community, notably spearheading the North Quadrant Support Services initiative in collaboration with the Worcester Public Schools.
Also named a member of the 2020 Power 50 was Eric W. Dickson, MD, professor of emergency medicine and president and chief executive officer of UMass Memorial Health Care, the clinical partner of UMass Medical School. Read more about the three academic health sciences center leaders in the of the journal published May 25.
Related stories on UMassMedNow: