July 26, 2010—
We are in the process of refining our fellowship programs to enable us to select future fellows whose work and interests intersect with the issues on which the Foundation is focused.
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News
Bush Medical Fellows Program to Close
October 7, 2009—The Bush Foundation announced its intention today to end operation of the Bush Medical Fellows (BMF) Program, a fellowship program created in 1979 to enable physicians to receive training in special areas and to develop opportunities for personal and professional growth, with a view toward improving the health of the communities they serve.
The decision to discontinue the BMF Program is the result of an effort to more closely align the Bush Foundation’s fellowship programs with its leadership/community engagement goal and its mission to improve the quality of life by strengthening organizational, community and individual leadership in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota and in the 23 sovereign tribal nations that share the same geography.
Bush Foundation Vice President Pamela Wheelock said, “Physicians have always been at the forefront of confronting community problems, whether it was by keeping its residents healthy through their daily work of seeing patients or by instituting new community programs—both related to health and with a broader emphasis.”
To that end, physicians may apply for a fellowship under the Bush Leadership Fellows Program. The BLF Program has always accepted applications from medical professionals. In its 44-year tenure, more than 100 leadership fellows have come from health-related fields, including health-care administration and patient care.
The Foundation has extended the application deadline for the BLF Program from Oct. 12 to Dec. 1 so that interested physicians have time to apply. Although the deadline for application is extended, all other activities of the program will continue on the original schedule with 2010 Bush Leadership Fellows announced in April.
Because the expectations and requirements of applicants to the BLF Program differ from those for BMF applicants, the Foundation encourages interested parties to review the selection process. In addition, Martha Lee of the BLF Program will host online webinars so that potential applicants may ask questions about the requirements of that program. Webinars will be held at noon on Wednesday, October 14; Thursday, October 22; Thursday, November 5; and Tuesday, November 17. Registration is required at www.bushfellows.org.
Mike Wilcox, M.D. (BMF’83) will conclude his service to the Foundation at the end of 2009, after serving as director of the program since 1999. Wilcox is the coordinator for the Emergency Care Plus Program at North Memorial Medical Center, on the clinical faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Departments of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, and is medical director of the EMS Program, MnSCU System; he will continue in those positions.
BMF Assistant Director Alice Sanborn will continue with the Foundation to manage the more than 50 medical fellows still on active fellowship.
Wheelock said, “We anticipate that the physicians who become future Bush Leadership Fellows will put their courageous leadership skills to work on the questions that face our communities today and in the future. And we believe that the more than 300 Bush Medical Fellows will continue to mentor the next generation of community leaders, just as they have since 1979.”
About the Bush Foundation
The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth. The Foundation strives to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of people in these three states.
In 2009, the Foundation is focusing on Goals for a Decade —in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems, to support the self-determination of Native nations and to increase educational achievement. (To learn more about the Foundation’s legacy or about Goals for a Decade, visit www.bushfoundation.org.)
Since 1965, the Foundation has offered fellowship programs to community leaders through the Bush Leadership Fellows Program. Other fellowship programs focused on artists and physicians followed in 1976 and 1979, respectively. All told, the Foundation has granted fellowships to more than 2,100 individuals in the last 44 years, including medical fellowships to more than 300 doctors and osteopaths.
Ka Vang
David Larson
Bill Allen
What is a Bush Fellow?