Newswise — Bethesda, MD – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) President Charles L. Rice, M.D., announced today that former Air Force Surgeon General, retired Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis has been selected as the next USU Senior Vice President, following a nationwide search. As Senior Vice President, Travis will manage the University’s San Antonio branch campus and build upon the University’s strong foundation of academic excellence. He will succeed Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) Patrick Sculley, who is retiring in spring 2016.

“I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Travis to the USU leadership team. He is a distinguished scholar and administrator with more nearly 40 years’ experience. He has a deep commitment to our students, faculty and to our mission and his leadership will be key in a number of areas,” said Rice.

“I am humbled and honored to be selected as the next Uniformed Services University Senior Vice President. I thank the Board of Regents and President Rice for the opportunity and the faith they have placed in me,” said Travis. “Maj. Gen. (retired) Pat Sculley will be a very hard act to follow, but I couldn’t be more pleased to carry on the great work done to date. And the fact that I will be working with my alma mater to help further excellence in military medical education and training is personally rewarding and exciting.”

Travis retired in August 2015, as Surgeon General of the Air Force after more than 38 years on active duty. In that role he managed a $6.6 billion, 44,000-person integrated health care delivery system serving 2.6 million beneficiaries at 75 military treatment facilities worldwide. Prior to that assignment, he served as Deputy Surgeon General, commanded the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine; the 311th Human Systems Wing at Brooks AFB, Texas; Malcolm Grow Medical Center and 79th Medical Wing at Andrews AFB, Md.; and the 59th Medical Wing, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas. He also served as the Command Surgeon, Headquarters, Air Force District of Washington, and Command Surgeon, Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Langley, AFB, Virginia. He is board certified in aerospace medicine. A command pilot and chief flight surgeon, he has more than 1,800 flying hours and was one of the Air Force’s few pilot-physicians. He has flown the F-4, F-15, and F-16 as mission pilot and the Royal Air Force Hawk as the senior medical officer and pilot.

Travis earned his undergraduate degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in physiology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. He earned his medical degree from USU in 1986, serving as president of the class. In 1991, he earned a Master of Science degree in Public Health from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, followed by a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy in 1999 from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC.

Travis also served as an active member of the USU Board of Regents while Surgeon General and currently holds an appointment as Distinguished Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at USU.

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. A large percentage of the university’s more than 5,300 physician and 700 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. USU also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research, and in oral biology. The University's research program covers a wide range of clinical and basic science important to both the military and public health. For more information, visit www.usuhs.edu.