St George’s University, announced on 28 August 2015, the appointment of Dr G. Richard Olds as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr Olds brings a breadth of experience to this new role, having served as an educator, physician and administrator during a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years. His appointment will enable St George’s to continue its nearly 40-year tradition of academic excellence and further advance the institution’s mission of providing high-quality medical education for students from the United States, Canada and around the world.
Dr Olds was most recently the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Founding Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). In 2010, Dr Olds joined UCR to lead the creation of a new school of medicine — the first LCME-accredited medical school in California in more than 4 decades — which was intended to address the severe doctor shortage in Inland Southern California. His vision, creativity and drive led to a school with the unique mission of bringing more diversity into the medical profession while helping to improve the health and quality of life of medically underserved communities.
Charles R. Modica, Chancellor, Chairman of the Board and co-founder of St George’s University said, “We are extremely excited to welcome Dr Olds as President and CEO. Dr Olds has dedicated his career to the same ideals that have made St George’s an important contributor to the delivery of health care in the US and around the world – a passion for providing high-quality education and a commitment to helping talented students from diverse backgrounds become excellent physicians. The fact that Dr Olds has received outstanding teaching awards at every institution he has served is a testament to his dedication to educating and mentoring future physicians. I look forward to working closely with Dr Olds in the coming years to ensure the continued success of our students and graduates.”
“I am thrilled to be joining St George’s University, an outstanding education-focused institution that has been committed to excellent student outcomes since its founding almost 40 years ago,” said Dr Olds. “The unique combination of programs at St George’s, including medicine, veterinary medicine and public health, has attracted bright and talented students eager to make a contribution to global health. Today, graduates of St George’s, many of whom serve critical roles as primary care doctors in disadvantaged or medically underserved communities, are helping to address the shortfall of physicians in the United States. As the school that has placed more doctors into US residency training than any other medical school over the past five years, I believe St George’s is extremely well-positioned to continue to help communities meet their health care and physician workforce needs over the coming decades.”
Dr Olds is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was an infectious disease fellow and one of the nation’s first Geographic Medicine fellows at University Hospitals of Cleveland, where he also served as medical chief resident and faculty member. He served as full professor of medicine, pediatrics, molecular, cell and development biology at Brown University, and professor and chairman of medicine at the MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining UCR, Dr Olds was professor and chair of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Olds is a tropical disease specialist with extensive experience working in Asia and Africa. He has served on the World Health Organization expert committee on schistosomiasis and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews, primarily focused on international health issues.
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