Washington, D.C., June 27, 2008—The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) announced today that John E. Prescott, M.D., will be the association's new chief academic officer. Selected after a nationwide search, Dr. Prescott plans to join the AAMC in September to lead the association's efforts to improve the education and training of new physicians, and enable them to meet the changing health care needs of the public.

"Dr. Prescott will bring outstanding skills and experience as an educator, clinician, and executive to his new role at the AAMC," said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "His vast experience and commitment to excellence in all aspects of medical education, patient care, and public service will be invaluable to the association and its members as we work to expand the physician workforce, and provide the high quality health care everyone deserves."

"I am humbled by my selection to this position and look forward to working with all the AAMC's constituencies to enhance medical education throughout its continuum," said Dr. Prescott. "Medical education faces many challenges, including the need for more physicians with greater diversity, rising medical school tuition, and a knowledge explosion that places increased demands on medical school faculty and curriculum. I truly believe that our medical schools, teaching hospitals, and research centers are up to meeting these challenges, and I look forward to working with the deans, teaching hospital leaders, students, residents, faculty, and staff in my new role."

Dr. Prescott will come to the AAMC after 15 years of leadership at West Virginia University (WVU). As the first chair of the WVU Department of Emergency Medicine from 1993 to 1999, Dr. Prescott founded and was the first director of the WVU Center for Rural Emergency Medicine. He served as president and CEO of University Health Associates, WVU's integrated multi-specialty faculty practice plan, from 1999-2004, and became the dean of the WVU School of Medicine in 2004.

During his tenure at WVU, the school of medicine received the AAMC's Outstanding Community Service Award in 2006 for its integrated, interdisciplinary network of educational, community outreach, and clinical care programs. The award recognizes a major commitment by a medical school or teaching hospital to address the needs of surrounding communities through exceptional programs that go beyond an institution's traditional service roles. Dr. Prescott also has been an active member of the association's Council of Deans (COD), through which he chaired the association's Holistic Admissions and Enhancing Diversity Committee, and served as COD representative to the Advisory Committee for Medical School Programs of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was also a member of the AAMC Group on Faculty Practice from 1999-2004.

Dr. Prescott earned his medical degree from Georgetown University, where he served in the AAMC's Organization of Student Representatives, and completed his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. After serving four years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Dr. Prescott joined the faculty of the WVU School of Medicine in 1990.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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