University President John T. Casteen III named Dr. Arthur "Tim" Garson Jr. the University's new vice president and dean of the School of Medicine yesterday afternoon.
Garson, who now serves as senior vice president and academic dean for operations at Baylor College of Medicine, will begin his new position June 25, replacing outgoing Medical School Dean Robert Carey.
"He's an excellent physician," Carey said of Garson. "He's had a lot of administrative experience."
Garson lauded the School of Medicine and expressed optimism about his tenure.
"This school, and you know it, is a jewel to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation," he said.
Garson mentioned ensuring quality teaching as one of the goals of his tenure.
"We should treat teaching as a profession, not as an activity squeezed between other duties," Garson said.
He also articulated a willingness to learn from others while he acclimates himself to the University community.
"During my first months here I plan to do a great deal of listening," Garson said.
Like many of the University's schools, the School of Medicine's greatest challenge under Garson may be to maintain adequate funding, Carey said. The School of Medicine currently raises $40 million a year in private funding, but may have to raise as much as three times as much to meet its strategic goals, he added.
Garson's trained profession is as a pediatric cardiologist. He graduated from Princeton University in 1970, received his M.D. from Duke University in 1974 and his master's degree from the University of Texas-Houston in 1992. Garson has served in his current position at Baylor since 1996.
Casteen praised both Garson and Carey, who is stepping down after 16 years as Dean of the School of Medicine.
During his tenure Carey overhauled the school's curriculum, improved interdisciplinary collaboration, increased fundraising and achieved the School's highest ever national ranking of 30th, Casteen said.
"The most important would be the quality of the faculty," Carey said of his accomplishments.
"We owe him a debt of gratitude," Casteen added.
Carey will take a one year sabbatical to develop a proposal for a new research center to study hormonal control of blood pressure. Carey plans to return to the University as a full-time professor after his sabbatical.
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