FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

 

For more information, contact:

UTHSC Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin

(901) 448-4957

 

First Executive Dean to Lead

 UTHSC Medical Colleges Across State

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (May 23, 2006) –A nationwide search culminated in the appointment of Steve J. Schwab, MD, as the first executive dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Medicine campuses. Reporting directly to the chancellor, Dr. Schwab will assume his role at UTHSC in late July and be located in Memphis. He will have overall administrative responsibility for the UTHSC College of Medicine campus locations in Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Deans located on each of these campuses will report to Dr. Schwab.

            Serving as the most senior administrative leader for College of Medicine state-wide initiatives, such as the UT Cancer Institute and the UT Biodefense Network, Dr. Schwab will also work closely with the executive leadership of UTHSC’s affiliated teaching hospitals.

            “Dr. Schwab is joining Tennessee’s flagship academic health center at a pivotal point in our history,” said William F. Owen, Jr., MD, UTHSC chancellor. “We are challenged to meet inequities in access to healthcare, disparities in healthcare interventions and outcomes, not to mention escalating costs of healthcare endemic to our nation.  With all of these opportunities as a backdrop, our mandate is to serve the entire state of Tennessee. Dr. Schwab brings extensive leadership experience that will enable us to achieve our mission of excellence in education, research, patient care and community service throughout the state.”

            Prior to joining UTHSC, Dr. Schwab served as interim dean and chief clinical officer of the Medical College of Georgia where he was also a Regents Professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine.  Before that, from 1985 to 2003, he was at Duke University where he rose to become professor and vice chairman of medicine. He has held board positions in both the private and public sectors and currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore and the National Renal Alliance.

            Internationally recognized in the field of renal disease with more than 150 refereed publications and five books to his credit, he has presented his research nationally and across Europe and Asia. Dr. Schwab regularly reviews research for professional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Currently, he is on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International and Clinical Nephrology.  Additionally, he has a substantial record of NIH funding in both single-center and multi-center clinical trials.

            Attesting to his commitment to patient care is the fact that Dr. Schwab was selected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America and America’s Top Doctors for the past 12 years. Certified in internal medicine and nephrology by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), Dr. Schwab served as a board member from 1996 to 2002. The ABIM sets the standards for and certifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes of physicians who practice internal medicine in the United States. He has been honored by the National Kidney Foundation, the American Heart Association and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Schwab’s teaching expertise is evidenced by his winning the Duke University Eugene Stead Teaching Award.

            A native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., he graduated from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas Hospitals and Clinics, and a fellowship in nephrology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-pronged mission of education, research, patient care and community service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans. Offering a broad range of post-graduate training opportunities, the main campus, with its seven colleges, is in Memphis.  The UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville and the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga also serve as major educational sites. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

###