Title: How the West Won Medicine
Client: University of Utah School of Medicine
Studio: University of Utah Health Sciences Public Affairs & Marketing

The design problem: This 210-page book celebrates the University of Utah School of Medicine’s more than century-long history and looks forward to its future. The 50-year-old edifice housing the school will soon close its doors. The book commemorates this milestone as we develop a new vision for an integrated medical complex combining research, education and clinical care. As we look back on the previous 50 years of our medical school, we also imagine how we can transform health in the next 50 years.

The book debuted at Alumni Weekend in October 2015. The celebration needed a centerpiece, a takeaway to inspire and educate alumni and benefactors about what we’ve accomplished over the last five decades as we embark on a campaign to fund construction of a new medical school. We knew we didn’t have the time or resources to create an exhaustive history, but we knew we could create a compelling and fairly comprehensive narrative to inform and inspire readers. Through stories and photos in a stunning design, we crafted a piece to live on the coffee tables and bookcases of alumni and donors for years to come. Together we’ll continue to work on solving the intractable problems in health care and imagine what we can achieve in the next 50 years.

The book both inspires and informs. It includes some of our best-known stories, such as the world’s first total artificial heart transplant. It also features some that are not so well-known, such the NIH’s awarding of its first-ever grant to the University of Utah. A collaborative group of people from the School of Medicine Alumni Association, Health Sciences Library and Public Affairs team collected the stories and photos and crafted the book on a very compressed timeline. The book celebrates each decade individually and illustrates how a spirit of entrepreneurship and teamwork helped us grow from a small, frontier medical school into a global academic force.

The design solution: The reception has been stellar. Few copies of the first print run of 1,000 remain. From requests for additional copies to anecdotal feedback from key alumni and donors to family members of former school administrators becoming more involved, the book is proving to be an important piece for our development and alumni teams. It will continue to play a greater role as we roll out a new  $385 million giving campaign centered around the construction of a new medical school and accompanying buildings. The book has also been condensed into a traveling exhibit, and is augmented online via the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library oral history project.

Project Team Credits:
Executive Editor: Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
Editors: Kimberly Grob, M.F.A.; Jennifer Jackson
Designer: Jesse Colby
Project Manager: Aaron Lovell, M.A.
Research Team: Joan Stoddart, M.A.L.S.; Heidi Greenberg
Senior Writer: Maria Cole
Senior Advisors: Joe Borgenicht; Brittan Browning, M.S., M.B.A., R.D.; Hilmon Castle, M.D.; Liz Hammond, M.D.; Dale Hull, M.D.; Dale Johnson, M.D.; Kirtly Jones, M.D.; Christopher Nelson; Karly Pippitt, M.D.; Moreno Robbins, M.D.; Wayne Samuelson, M.D.; Jacqueline Voland; Kathy Wilets, M.P.A.
Photographers: Charlie Ehlert and Miguel Mendoza
Copy Editors: Phil Sahm, Rebecca Walsh
Production Designers: Stace Hasegawa, Luat Nguyen and Laurie Robison
Editorial Assistant: Leah Saycich
Contributors: Kristin Wann Anderson; Anne Brillinger; Mary Chachas; Jamie Gadette; David Perry, M.B.A.; Susan Sample, Ph.D.; Jean Shipman, M.S.L.S.
Printer: Paragon Press
Paper: Printed on Sterling Premium Gloss 100# paper, which is FSC- and SFI- certified, and is made from 10% post-consumer recycled fiber paper. End sheets are Classic Crest 80# cover, which is FSC- and Green Seal-certified, carbon-neutral and chlorine free; and is made from 30% post-consumer fiber paper. Printer uses low-VOC, soy-based inks.