A Canadian cardiologist with more than a quarter-century of experience as an academic medical administrator in Canada and the U.S. has been named dean of the New York Medical College School of Medicine, officials at the Valhalla school announced Tuesday.
Dr. Donald Douglas Miller will start in his new post Dec. 15 after serving as dean of faculty of medicine and dentistry at the University of Alberta. The Brockville, Ontario, native was also appointed vice-provost for bio-medical affairs for the Touro College and University System, which includes New York Medical College.
In the dean”™s post he succeeds Dr. Edward C. Halperin, chancellor and CEO of New York Medical College, who has concurrently served as dean since his arrival in Westchester from Duke University School of Medicine in 2012.
Before his move to Alberta, Miller was dean of the School of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, where he oversaw an expansion of the medical school from one campus to four, according to a New York Medical College spokesperson. While in Georgia, he also developed a new interdisciplinary research structure and a unified model of health care delivery by bringing physicians and hospitals closer together.
Miller has held clinical appointments as an internist, cardiologist and medical imager at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Saint Louis University and the Veterans Administration. He was a resident scholar at the Association of American Medical Colleges, where he studied the associations between national economies, health care policies and physician workforce balance.
“From the outset, our top priority will be to continuously improve the learning environment for our medical students and residents.” Miller said in the school announcement. “To achieve this goal, we will attract and develop highly-qualified faculty members and staff who are dedicated to our learners’ success.”
Halperin, who will continue as chancellor and CEO, said Miller”™s appointment followed an international search by a faculty search committee in which the Canadian was chosen from “an extraordinarily strong pool of applicants.”
Indira V. Samarasekera, president of the University of Alberta, said Miller”™s “passion for excellence in medical education is the defining feature of his leadership, setting the highest standard for students and faculty alike.”
