Newswise — Arthur J. Ross III, M.D., M.B.A., has joined the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University as interim dean. He succeeds David J. Bjorkman, M.D., M.S.P.H., who recently announced that he would step down as dean and executive director of medical affairs after serving as dean for four years. “This is an exciting time to join Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine to help position the medical school for its next phase of growth and success,” said Ross. “My predecessor achieved a number of important milestones during his tenure as dean, including full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, and we are most thankful for his leadership and vision.”

In addition to serving as interim dean, Ross will spearhead the national search for a permanent dean over the next several months. The university has retained the firm of Witt/Kieffer to aid in the search, which will commence in the coming weeks. A pediatric surgeon and researcher, Ross recently retired as dean at West Virginia University School of Medicine. His distinguished career includes serving as a faculty physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; as the founding regional dean for the Western Clinical Campus of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine; and as dean of Chicago Medical School and vice president for medical affairs of Rosalind Franklin University.

As a result of his extensive experience in medical school administration, Ross has been selected as a leader of several national professional and accrediting organizations. He is a past chair of the Governing Council for the American Medical Association Section on Medical Schools, and is the immediate past chair of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. In 2015, he completed his term as an elected member of the Administrative Board of the Council of Deans, Association of American Medical Colleges. Ross is a graduate of Trinity College and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, with postgraduate medical and research training at Duke University Medical Center; University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He earned a master's degree in administrative medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

He is certified by the American Board of Surgery in general and pediatric surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Ross is the author or co-author of nearly 100 original articles and book chapters.

FAU’s College of Medicine is one of 145 accredited medical schools in the United States. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America, and admitted its inaugural class of 64 students in 2011. To further FAU’s commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. In June 2014, FAU’s College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal medicine.

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University:Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT
Register for reporter access to contact details