Dr. Darrell Kirch, Penn State's New Medical School Dean, Addresses Penn State Board Of Trustees

July 14, 2000
University Park, Pa. -- Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., who on July 1 assumed the roles of senior vice president for health affairs for Penn State and dean of its College of Medicine in Hershey, addressed the Penn State Board of Trustees for the first time today.

In his remarks, Kirch related a brief history of the College of Medicine and The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and talked to the board about the current status of research funding, clinical activity, and college and hospital finances.

He also described the college and medical center collectively as a values-based organization and said, "As we move forward, I intend for us to be very explicit about and to openly discuss our core values, while trying to be even more flexible as we rethink and redesign our organization daily." Among the values Kirch listed as vital to the Hershey campus are open communication, respect, fairness and diversity.

Linked to these core values, said Kirch, are the guiding principles of pursuit of excellence, maintaining balance in missions and creating partnerships and teams. He explained how each of these principles are key to the future viability of the college and medical center.

Penn State President Graham Spanier appointed Kirch to his new positions on May 2. He is also the CEO of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the academic medical center affiliated with Penn State's College of Medicine. At Hershey, he succeeds C. McCollister Evarts, M.D., who led the medical center since 1987. Kirch previously served as senior vice president for clinical activities and dean of the School of Medicine of the Medical College of Georgia.

Regarding his new responsibilities, Kirch said on July 1, "Hershey Medical Center and Penn State's College of Medicine provide one of the best opportunities in the country. Above all, I was attracted by the quality of people at the Medical Center, the College of Medicine and Penn State University at large. I saw a passion for excellence in the professional accomplishments of Penn State’s faculty. Their research is outstanding. The Medical Center has world-class clinicians and a strong emphasis on high quality education and patient care. What impressed me the most, however, was the remarkable spirit of collegiality."

Kirch, who earned his M.D. from the University of Colorado, completed a residency in psychiatry in 1982 at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He then joined the National Institutes of Mental Health, where he directed a number of units and eventually was named deputy scientific director and then acting scientific director, with responsibility for the 22 laboratories of the intramural research program. While at NIMH, Kirch received both the Commendation Medal and the Outstanding Service Medal of the United States Public Health Service.

In 1994 he assumed the position of dean of the School of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). Under his leadership, MCG was able to strengthen its biomedical graduate programs, including creation of an innovative MD/PhD program involving a graduate school consortium of all the public research universities in the state.

Kirch was also instrumental in developing several research initiatives including the establishment of an Institute for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, a Vascular Biology Center and a Center for Health Care Improvement, a research center devoted to health services and outcomes research.

Under his leadership from 1994 to 1999, sponsored research support to the School of Medicine at MCG increased by 66 percent. During that same period, 16 endowed chairs were created in the school.

Kirch is widely recognized for his work on the neurobiology of mental disorders. He has held a number of national leadership positions in academic medicine including past chair of the Governing Council of the Section on Medical Schools of the American Medical Association and member of the Leadership Committee of the Association of American Colleges Council of Deans.

Contact: Steve Bortner (717) 531-8607