It has been my intent to depart from my roles of Dean of the School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs in the Health System after completion of our LCME accreditation site visit so I can be attentive to my funded research program.

With that successful visit now under our belt, it is now time to start the search for my successor.


Jerry Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D.

It has been a privilege to be a part of the School of Medicine and to work with our gifted faculty, residents, students and staff to achieve aspirations that were bold and far-reaching.

Initiatives that have been formulated over the past few years promise to bring even greater recognition to our school and health system. I will do whatever I can to help these become a reality while I spend the next phase of my academic life as a faculty member.

Meanwhile, I will remain on as Dean until the national search is successfully concluded.

A few months ago, I realized that I am the longest serving full-time employed Dean in the School of Medicine’s history. Believe me, that could not have happened without the collective engagement of those who work daily to make the school and health system exceptional in all domains.

I particularly want to thank our alumni and our loyal supporters in the community who have made it possible through their encouragement and philanthropy to pursue our goals of excellence in education, clinical care and discovery.

Cathy and I have made many friends through MCV and the MCV extended family, and we treasure those relationships. Please accept my profound gratitude for welcoming the two of us and for partnering with us.

It has made the nearly 11 years I have been working with you incredibly rewarding, and with the pace of progress, seemingly all too fleeting.

Former Dean Jerome F. Strauss

Jerome F. Strauss, III, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System