Geisel Dean Chip Souba's Plan to Step Down

To the Dartmouth community:

I am writing to share the news that Dean Wiley "Chip" Souba will not seek reappointment to a second four-year term as dean of the Geisel School of Medicine. As a member of the faculty of the medical school, Dr. Souba will focus his work on expanding nationally his interests in the future of medical education to prepare students to be leaders and advance health care.

Dean Souba has had a significant impact on education, research and health care delivery at Geisel since arriving in September 2010. He expertly guided the school through an extensive accreditation process, securing a full eight-year term -- the longest available from the Liaison Committee for Medical Education.

He has led the effort to create an innovative curriculum that will ensure that our students receive a contemporary 21st Century medical education.

Under Dean Souba's leadership, Geisel's stature as a medical school increased and it moved into the top 20 of medical schools nationally for primary care, climbing 13 spots to 18th in the 2015 U.S. News & World Report's Best Medical Schools rankings. During his tenure, more and more top prospective students have become interested in pursuing their medical education at Dartmouth. Geisel experienced a 27 percent surge in applications to the

2014 entering MD class, an increase projected to be more than triple the national average.

Geisel made strong strides in biomedical and population health research under Dean Souba's leadership. The medical school was awarded $18 million in the NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, joining an elite number of research universities nationally. Geisel's Williamson Translational Research Building construction continues, and the work conducted there will improve the health of communities and individuals.

Chip's unwavering commitment to our students has helped several Geisel graduates rise to become national leaders in academic medicine and global health. He responded to growing student need for structured experiential learning opportunities in underserved areas by establishing the Center for Health Equity in 2013. Under Chip, Dartmouth's medical school's recognition grew globally, thanks in no small part to its important work to improve disease prevention, discovery and health care delivery in Rwanda, Tanzania, Haiti, Peru and in American Indian communities.

In the next few days, we will inform the community about the interim leadership of the medical school with whom Chip will work to ensure a smooth transition through the end of June. Please join me in congratulating Chip for all he's accomplished as he prepares to enter a new and productive phase in his distinguished career in medical education.

Best wishes,
Phil Hanlon '77
President