Education Scholar Appointed at School of Medicine and Dentistry
Hundert succeeds Dean Lowell Goldsmith, who last month announced his intent to take a sabbatical leave and not pursue a second term as dean. Hundert previously served as the School's senior associate dean for medical education and professor of psychiatry and medical humanities, with responsibility for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.
An undergraduate at Yale University, Hundert received a Marshall Scholarship to attend Oxford University, where he received a master's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. He went to Harvard Medical School for both his M.D. degree and psychiatric residency training, and received Harvard's prestigious Sirgay Sanger Prize for excellence in psychiatric research.
Recruited to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry from Harvard Medical School in 1997, Hundert has led Rochester through a sweeping reform of its medical school curriculum. Named after the intertwining strands that comprise DNA, the "Double-Helix" curriculum integrates basic science and clinical medicine throughout all four years of medical school, with students learning to care for patients as they learn the biological and social sciences which are fundamental to an understanding of disease, treatment, and prevention. As word has spread of the curriculum's success, Hundert has received invitations to visit medical schools around the country to share Rochester's approach.
"Under the leadership of Drs. Goldsmith and Hundert, the School of Medicine and Dentistry has brought together the components of a world-class medical school. With Dr. Hundert's passion for interdisciplinary collaboration we can now bring those components together to achieve an exciting new level of synergy," said Jay H. Stein, senior vice president and vice provost for health affairs. "Having someone who has himself achieved the very highest academic standards at institutions like Yale, Oxford and Harvard challenges each of us to set the very highest expectations."
"I am delighted to learn of Edward Hundert's appointment as dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Dr. Hundert has a remarkable capacity to see the grand picture, while preserving a passion for the humanitarian aspects of medicine," said Joseph B. Martin, dean of Harvard Medical School.
Hundert will assume his new role as dean on August 1, 2000.
In addition to Hundert's appointment, the University has announced plans for a second dean within the School of Medicine and Dentistry. The Dean for Research, a new position, will be charged with fostering greater cohesion among the activities of the basic science and graduate training programs. The appointment, and trustee action, are expected later this summer.
Clinical Expert Named at School of Nursing
A member of the School of Nursing faculty since 1984, Patricia Ann Chiverton is the third dean of the University of Rochester School of Nursing. An accomplished educator, skilled clinician and an active researcher, Chiverton has recently served as interim dean - leading the School through the implementation of its ambitious plan to unify education, research and clinical care into a platform for its curriculum. She is also associate dean for clinical affairs, vice president for Strong Health, and CEO of the School's highly respected Community Nursing Center.
An undergraduate of Central Missouri State University, Chiverton holds a master's degree in psychiatric mental health nursing from the University's School of Nursing and a doctoral degree from its Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
A member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), Chiverton is the recipient of the APNA's 1994 Excellence in Leadership Award. In addition, she received the University of Rochester School of Nursing's 1997 Professional Advancement Award. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Epsilon Xi chapter, as well as the Eastern Nursing Research Society. In 1999, she was elected as a nursing fellow in the National Academies of Practice.
Chiverton's primary research interests include various aspects of aging, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In 1992, she received a major grant from the New York State Department of Health's Dementia Grant Program to study how sensory stimulation could affect the behavior of nursing home residents with dementia. She also serves as co-principal investigator of a nearly $1 million, five-year grant from the New York State Bureau of Public Health to measure the impact of managing adolescents' health care through school-based clinics. Chiverton's academic work has been published in more than 20 national peer-reviewed journals.
"Our national search has shown that there is no other leader more able to sustain the focus and pace of progress than Pat Chiverton," Stein said. "Dr. Chiverton is a brilliant educator and researcher, as well as an active clinician who understands real-life nursing. She is the personification of the reunification strategy."
The School of Nursing is planning an official induction ceremony to be held during its convocation this September.