Wolinsky moves into interim dean role at Medical School

Visit the Office of the Dean.

Dr. Jerry Wolinsky, holder of the Bartels Family and Opal C. Rankin Professorships in Neurology, has been serving in the role as interim dean of the Medical School since June 1.

Wolinsky agreed to take on the new leadership role, until a successor is named. In addition, a search committee to identify and recruit a new dean for the Medical School was formed consisting of Dr. Michael McKinney (chair), Dr. Frank Arnett, Kevin Dillon, Dr. Samuel Kaplan, Dr. Susan John, Dr. Gary Rosenfeld, and Dr. George Stancel.

"These first few weeks as dean have been exciting and have brought a new set of challenges," Wolinsky said. "I'm looking forward to interacting with more faculty, staff, and students in the months ahead as together we move the Medical School into a new era in which we renew our commitment to be recognized as an emerging premier institution."

Wolinsky has been with the Medical School for 23 years and has watched it develop and change over those years. He said he was honored to be chosen for the role as interim dean and does not take the new task lightly.

"I realize that it has great importance for the school to attempt to fill the enormous gap left by Dr. Schultz's prolonged illness," he said. "I hope that I can certainly live up to his standards. We look forward to the search for a permanent successor for Dr. Schultz to move forward rapidly, but I surely do not intend to be a passive caretaker for the office."

Wolinsky is also director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Group and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis Center. He has taken a sabbatical from his clinical activities, but research at the center continues, and colleagues care for his patients.

The search to recruit a permanent dean for the Medical School began May 8.