UMDNJ welcomed Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., as its fourth president on July 1. Dr. Owen comes to UMDNJ from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he was chancellor. He brings a strong background in academic medicine, clinical healthcare, and scientific research, which will be instrumental as he leads the University into the next chapter of its development.

"My management style is based on personal integrity, team service, leadership engagement, and deep respect for all members of our wonderful organization," Dr. Owen states in a message to the University community. He notes that his paramount goal is "to identify and implement approaches to accelerate our success" and that he will be spending the next few months completing a deep environmental scan.

The full text of Dr. Owen’s message to the University is available online.

More than 100 faculty/physicians at UMDNJ were included in the list of New York Magazine's "Best Doctors" for 2007.

For its annual compilation of top physicians in many different specialties, the magazine employs the services of Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd., which publishes an annual guidebook, Top Doctors: New York Metro Area. The guidebook lists those determined to be the top 10 percent of the region's physicians.

In an article to be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health, researchers from the UMDNJ-School of Public Health analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents and concluded that a major tobacco company exploited loopholes to market little cigars as cigarettes while avoiding cigarette tax and regulatory restrictions.

The article, titled "A Whole ‘Nother Smoke or a Cigarette in Disguise," was co-authored by Dr. Cristine Delnevo and Mary Hrywna. It explores the deliberate effort to blur the line between cigarettes and little cigars.