Arthur J. Ross III, M.D., M.B.A., has been looking forward to taking over the reigns of the West Virginia University School of Medicine with what he calls “eager anticipation.” Today, he becomes the ninth person to hold the title of Dean of the School of Medicine.

“I am deeply grateful to the many people who have worked so hard to make my transition as easy as possible and who have made me feel so welcome,” Dr. Ross said.

During his first week on the job, Ross plans to spend time getting to know the people at the WVU Health Sciences Center and getting acquainted with the Morgantown area.
“My first week will include becoming better acquainted with our students, faculty and staff as well as holding meetings with leaders from the WVU Hospitals, University Health Associates, the School of Medicine and our other HSC schools,” Ross said. “I plan to do a lot of listening and expect that I will learn much from them. Finally, I hope there will be ample opportunities to begin to learn more about the WVU community as well as our greater Morgantown and statewide communities beyond.”

Since officially being named dean, Ross has spent the last several weeks in meetings both in person and via telephone prepping for his arrival on campus.

He also participated in meetings related to the newly adopted WVU Healthcare Joint Operating Agreement. “I was so impressed by the extremely collegial way that the respective leaders worked together as well as how such great efforts were taken by them to assure that the proposal was communicated so well to all. I learned much from these meetings and think they have prepared me well to get started in stride,” he said.

“I was delighted to see that the determination was made by all of the key stakeholder groups to move forward with the integration process and formal launching of WVU Healthcare. I see it as a key success factor for our future.”

Prior to his appointment as dean of the WVU School of Medicine, Ross served as dean of Chicago Medical School and vice president for medical affairs of Rosalind Franklin University. He assumes the role from James Brick, M.D., who served in an interim capacity since 2008.

For more information on the WVU School of Medicine, see www.hsc.wvu.edu/som.

For full release: www.health.wvu.edu/newsreleases/news-details.aspx?ID=1548

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aj8/16/10

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For more information:
Angela Jones, HSC News Service, 304-293-7087, jonesan@wvuh.com