Keeping the Dream Alive: The Back Story

Abstract

The purpose of the manuscript was to share the unfamiliar back story of the founding of The Academy. Noted is the unique dilemma and unforeseen obstacles the founder had to overcome to launch The Academy. The dream began with the recognition that most universities waged enormous lip service to quality teaching, however, handsomely rewarded research rarely teaching. Consequently, to overcome his own research limitations, the founder set upon forming a research organization to coalesce with researchers. Detailed is the negative feedback received from colleagues regarding forming The Academy and how he overcame his personal research limitations. The manuscript further notes how the initial founders were recruited, how gender criticism was dealt with, how the bylaws were established, how the meeting venues were selected and how The Academy narrowly missed being a conceivable casualty of 9/11. Similarly, thoughts are offered for keeping The Academy dream alive via the paramount Academy feature; meritocracy. Moreover, further comments are offered regarding Academy admission requirements, prevailing awards within The Academy, the short-lived official journal of The Academy and the limitation of membership. The overall tone is the recognition that organizations grow and change; however, the founder emboldens The Academy to always keep in mind the founding principles that make The Academy unique and distinct from other health organizations.