IMSA360: Winter 2011

In this issue of IMSA360, which doubles as the IMSA Fund for Advancement of Education’s 2011 annual report, we chronicle a journey none of us wanted but many of us now embrace. The tentacles of our ALS story and attention to “orphan diseases” stretch far and wide, supported by our donors, driven by our students, staff and community partners, and inspired by our Principal and Vice President for Academic Programs Dr. Eric McLaren. His story – our story – calls us to advance the human condition through education, research, advocacy and action. While we cannot dial back the clock and undo Dr. McLaren’s diagnosis, we can, we must and we will continue to live and work in accordance with the IMSA Board of Trustees’ original philosophy statement, authored by Dr. Leon Lederman a quarter of a century ago, and in doing so we will extend our Principal’s legacy: “If we do what we know and feel is right, it is bound to happen that among our graduates there will numbered scientists, engineers, and those who go on to earn degrees in law and letters. There are likely to be those few who create new intellectual worlds, cure a dreaded human ailment or in some other way significantly influence life on our planet. Our philosophy will be to treat our charges as if each one is capable of this extraordinary achievement.” Excerpt: From the Presiden