Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, will present “UAB: Its Opportunity to Lead Us into the New World for Health Care,” Thursday, Aug. 14 as the inaugural speaker in the Leadership in Academic Medicine Lecture series, sponsored by UAB Medicine. Kirch’s lecture will be held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium. One hour of Continuing Medical Education credit is available, and a limited number of lunches will be provided for attendees.
“Darrell Kirch is a seminal leader in academic medicine who has a balanced understanding of the pressures that medical academic institutions face in the challenges of research, clinical growth and evolving educational requirements. His talk at UAB will provide insight into the direction of academic medicine in the U.S. and at UAB,” says Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine.
The lecture is the first in the annual Leadership in Academic Medicine Lecture series, which will bring high-profile leaders to UAB. Each lecturer will discuss issues facing UAB and other prominent academic medical centers across all missions. “It is an important part of our institutional commitment to grow and lead on a national scale as an academic medical center,” Vickers says.
Kirch assumed the position of AAMC president in July 2006 following six years as senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the college of medicine and CEO of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at The Pennsylvania State University, where he and his leadership team are credited with revitalizing the institution and guiding it through a period of educational innovation and major growth in clinical activity and research funding. Before joining Penn State, Dr. Kirch held a number of leadership positions at the Medical College of Georgia from 1994 to 2000, including serving as dean of the medical school, senior vice president for clinical activities and dean of the school of graduate studies.
Dr. Kirch is a member of several professional societies, including the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Psychiatrists, and American Medical Association, and currently serves as chair of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Special Medical Advisory Group. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2007.
A native of Denver, Dr. Kirch received both his B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Colorado, which in 2002 presented him with its Silver and Gold Alumni Award. He has had an active career as a clinician and researcher, and has held medical faculty positions at Penn State, the Medical College of Georgia, and George Washington University. A prolific writer and public speaker, Dr. Kirch has published more than 125 articles and book chapters, and made numerous presentations to medical, educational, scientific and advocacy organizations.