August 17, 2010

Irby to Step Down as Vice Dean for Medical Education

David Irby

David Irby, PhD, has announced that he will step down as vice dean for education in the UCSF School of Medicine effective July 1, 2011, according to Sam Hawgood, MBBS, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs.

After a sabbatical, Irby will return to work on specific educational initiatives.

“While I have accepted his decision with regret, I am delighted that Dr. Irby will continue to play an active role in medical education here at UCSF,” Hawgood said in email to the medical school community. “Having had the opportunity to work with Dr. Irby and his team both as chair and dean, what has impressed me the most about them is their passion for education, dedication to our learners and support of our teachers.”

Under Irby’s stewardship, medical education at UCSF has flourished and garnered national and international recognition, Hawgood noted.

A professor of medicine at UCSF, Irby directs undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education programs of the School of Medicine and leads the Office of Medical Education. As a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, he co-directed a national study on the professional preparation of physicians.

A national search, led by Vice Dean Nancy Milliken, MD, will be conducted to find a successor who will continue to advance the school’s educational mission. A copy of the search announcement can be found on the School of Medicine website. Please send applications and nominations, both internal and external, to Milliken.

Irby is recognized as an exceptional leader within the school, on campus and at the UC Office of the President.

He has received multiple national and international awards and prizes for his contributions. For his research on clinical teaching in medicine and leadership in medical education, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award by the American Educational Research Association, the John P. Hubbard Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Daniel C. Tosteson Award for Leadership in Medical Education from Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Distinguished Service Award from Graceland University and John E. Chapman Medal Award from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He became a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association for substantial research accomplishments in education research in 2009.

Irby is also noted for his faculty development workshops that have been conducted nationally and internationally. He created a year long, part-time Teaching Scholars Program at the University of Washington and at UCSF.

Irby earned a doctorate degree in education from the University of Washington, a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and a postdoctoral fellowship in academic administration from Harvard University.

Related Link: