Dr. John M. Kauffman Named Founding Dean of Duquesne’s College of Osteopathic Medicine
After a very competitive national search, Dr. John M. Kauffman Jr. D.O. was named founding dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Duquesne during a press conference this morning. He will assume the role on Jan. 1, 2020.
Kauffman, who has served as founding dean and chief academic officer of the Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine in Buies Creek, N.C., since 2011, was named dean emeritus in October.
“An accomplished leader who has successfully launched a major osteopathic medical school, John has served on accrediting boards, directed medical education in many contexts and is a seasoned internal medicine physician,” said University President Ken Gormley. “His professional expertise and his mission commitment are characteristics that we made a top priority in identifying a founding dean. The fact that he is a western Pennsylvania native makes him a particularly good fit to work with our community partners. We are thrilled to have attracted a medical professional with John’s significant network and experience as we continue the next steps to open the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Duquesne University, a move that will benefit the entire region.”
During his tenure at the Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine, Kauffman played an integral role in the school’s launch and critical accreditation process. The Wallace School was the first medical school to open in North Carolina in 35 years and presently is the state’s only osteopathic medical school.
“John knows what it takes to build a College of Osteopathic Medicine from the ground up,” Gormley said during the press conference. “He has a deep understanding of the accreditation process, making him the perfect individual to launch this initiative in western Pennsylvania.”
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to help Duquesne launch such an important initiative that will serve medicine and students well and that is so aligned with the service mission of the University itself,” Kauffman said. “In a city and region facing a shortage of physicians, Duquesne has the potential to meet those needs, and to do so by educating physicians who want to practice medicine in an environment which considers the whole person, mind, body and spirit, while providing state-of -the-art medical care.”
During the press conference, Kauffman talked about the importance of training doctors to meet future challenges.
“Medicine is changing so much. We’ve done a very good job in the 21st century training doctors for the 20th century,” he told an audience that included media, faculty, staff and students. “I think it behooves us to really think long and hard 20 years from now, 50 years from now, about what doctors will need to know.”
John R. “Jack” McGinley, Jr., chairman of Duquesne’s board of directors, said the new college will benefit both the University and community at large.
“This was a big undertaking and it’s an important one,” he told the audience. “As we all know, we need to supplement the health care that we deliver in this community, and by this academic initiative, we are certainly going to do that.”
Kauffman’s expertise and leadership skills will help provide a unique Duquesne curriculum for the new college, said University Provost Dr. David Dausey.
“Dr. Kauffman will be instrumental in fostering academic excellence, recruiting top-notch faculty, developing and stewarding resources, and providing consistent and decisive leadership,” Dausey said. “We look forward to his expertise in creating a distinct Duquesne curriculum, developing strategic partners and clinical placements, and overseeing the design and construction of an innovative, state-of-the-art new home for the College of Osteopathic Medicine.”
Prior to his role at Campbell University, Kauffman served in several capacities at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). In 2006, he was named associate dean for postgraduate affairs and in 2010 was promoted to vice dean for postgraduate affairs of the Virginia and South Carolina campuses. Under Kauffman’s leadership at VCOM, the number of residency positions increased from 40 to 280 in family medicine, internal medicine, dermatology and neurosurgery.
Kauffman also worked for University Hospitals of Cleveland from 2001-2006, during which he established University-based osteopathic residencies in dermatology and pediatrics as well as community-based residencies which included family medicine, internal medicine, and sports medicine.
“I am so grateful to the search committee for having identified and recruited a candidate with John’s strengths and experience,” Dausey said. “We are so fortunate to have a dean who understands the profession and the administrative tasks ahead. John will empower the faculty to serve a mission, and will lead efforts in enrolling not just our inaugural class, but the many classes of students that will follow. With Duquesne poised to take a spot among the top medical schools in the nation, I have every confidence in John’s ability to make it happen.”
Kauffman is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Osteopathic Internists. He has spent more than 20 years of his career in medical education, directing medical education at medical centers and medical schools both in urban and rural communities. He has participated in medical mission trips to nations in central America, South America, India and Africa. Kauffman holds numerous professional memberships and in 2014 was awarded the American Osteopathic Foundation’s Educator of the Year award.
Kauffman earned a bachelor’s degree in biology/psychology at Allegheny College and his doctor of osteopathic medicine at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed an osteopathic rotating internship at Clarion Community Hospital, in Clarion, Pa., and an internal medicine residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Allentown, Pa.
Kauffman and his wife, Sharon, have four daughters. They currently reside in Fuquay Varina, outside of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Duquesne announced in August its intent to establish of a College of Osteopathic Medicine, targeted to open and admit its first class in fall semester 2023. It will become the second medical school in the Pittsburgh region and the first Catholic osteopathic medical school in Pennsylvania. The college will recruit an initial class of 75, with the intention of growing enrollment during its initial years to a total of 600 students enrolled at full maturity.
Duquesne planned for the addition of an osteopathic medical school during the creation of the University’s 2018-2023 strategic plan, Re-Imagining Duquesne’s Spiritan Legacy for a New Era. Following the encouraging completion of a feasibility study with globally recognized consulting firm Tripp Umbach, the administration decided to pursue accreditation. The founding dean is a key step forward in the process.