John G. Clarkson, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine for the past decade, announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as dean to accept the position of executive director of the American Board of Ophthalmology. Clarkson will remain as dean until a successor has been named, and then will assume a new part-time leadership role at the University.
“Dean Clarkson has brought the University of Miami School of Medicine to previously unimaginable heights of excellence in biomedical research, education and patient care,” said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala.
Beginning in January 2006, Clarkson will lead the American Board of Ophthalmology, a certifying agency of the American Board of Medical Specialists that ensures that ophthalmologists maintain top professional skills. “I see this role as a broader one where I can participate with the rest of medicine to make sure that ophthalmologists can prove their ability to provide the most advanced care for patients,” Clarkson said.
Clarkson was director of UM’s nationally acclaimed Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology before becoming dean in November 1995. During his tenure as dean he has recruited significant research and academic talent to the University and presided over hefty annual growth in the research enterprise.