Dr. William Bird has been named interim chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, effective July 1.
Bird will assume the role following the departure of Dr. James Herman, who is retiring from Penn State Hershey to become the dean of the School of Community Medicine at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa.
Bird has been on the faculty at the College of Medicine since 1996. He currently serves as professor of family and community medicine, associate chief medical officer for primary care for the Penn State Hershey Medical Group, vice chair for patient care in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and chief medical officer for Penn State Health Care Partners. Bird completed his undergraduate education at the University of Rhode Island, and earned his doctor of osteopathic medicine from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency at Community General Osteopathic Hospital in Harrisburg.
A committee will conduct a national search for Herman’s permanent replacement.