This month Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science officially dedicated the DeWitt C. Baldwin Institute for Interprofessional Education, honoring Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Scholar in Residence and a pioneer of interprofessional education, DeWitt C. Baldwin, MD.

While the Institute has been in operation since 2012, the ceremony and events marked the official opening of a newly designed space dedicated to the work of interprofessionalism, which is the University’s top strategic priority. In Spring 2013, the university decided to name the interprofessional institute for Dr. Baldwin. The new facilities provide offices and program areas for collaborative efforts among students and faculty campus-wide.

“Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is one of the first health professions universities that has made interprofessional education a centerpiece of their activities,” said Dr. Baldwin. “As a strong advocate of interprofessional education throughout my career, I am pleased and proud to have my name associated with the Institute.”

Barbara Brandt, director, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, spoke at the event. In her remarks, “Learning From Bud: The Bright Future of IPE,” Brandt said, “The arrival to where we are today in the field and looking toward the future of the changing health care landscape hasn’t been easy. It’s been a journey – a marathon toward the goal line – one of which I think about as each of us carrying the baton or maybe the torch during our leg of the race toward health through better practice and education.”

She concluded, “And, after forty plus years, could interprofessional education and collaborative practice in the U.S. have found its way?  Has it moved from the margins to the core? I think it has.