Medical College of Wisconsin Announces Executive Leadership Transition

Milwaukee, Sept. 17, 2024 – The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) recently informed faculty, staff, students and its Board of Trustees that Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, executive vice president, provost and The Julia A. Uihlein, MA, Dean of the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine, has made the decision to transition from these executive leadership roles effective Dec. 31, 2024, and will return to the faculty on a full-time basis.

Dr. Kerschner will continue to serve MCW as Professor in the Departments of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, and Microbiology & Immunology, as well as devote additional time to his research endeavors, which have been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2001. A nationally recognized expert in otolaryngology, Dr. Kerschner will also remain dedicated to his active clinical practice, caring for pediatric patients at Children’s Wisconsin. Additionally, Dr. Kerschner has been named Dean Emeritus of the School of Medicine as of Jan. 1, 2025.

Dr. Kerschner was named the tenth dean of the MCW School of Medicine (SOM) and executive vice president in November 2011 – following 11 months as interim dean – and was installed in these roles in February 2012. At the time of his interim appointment, Dr. Kerschner was CEO of Children’s Specialty Group. Upon his leadership transition, Dr. Kerschner will have served as Dean of the SOM for 14 years – one of the longest tenures of any current medical school dean in the country.

Among Dr. Kerschner’s most substantive achievements during his executive leadership tenure:

• Expanding MCW’s physician education and training programs that includes growing the number of medical students on the Milwaukee campus, opening new regional medical schools in Green Bay and Central Wisconsin, increasing the number of training positions for psychiatry and behavioral health by more than 40% and adding five new family and community medicine residency programs statewide – all of which has allowed MCW to address physician workforce maldistribution and shortages.
• Accelerating the growth of MCW’s research program that includes nearly doubling the amount of NIH funding secured by MCW from 2014 to 2023; establishing several new centers and institutes focused on the advancement of women in science, population science, immunology, imaging, injury and sustainability and the environment; helping to secure continuous funding for the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin since 2010; and spearheading MCW’s vision for the new Cancer Research Building that is expected to open in 2025.
• Advancing high-quality patient care through millions of clinical visits each year. In 2011, MCW’s SOM clinicians provided care through more than 1.6 million inpatient and outpatient visits – a number that would multiply to more than 4.8 million inpatient, outpatient and telemedicine visits by 2023.
• Enhancing MCW’s investment in community engagement to improve the health of people and communities throughout Wisconsin and beyond that includes the SOM’s leadership of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, creation of the Center for Advancing Population Science, expansion of MCW’s Office of Community Engagement and the SOM’s successful attainment of the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement – one of only five medical schools in the U.S. with this designation.

Additionally, Dr. Kerschner has mentored countless pre- and postdoctoral students, as well as junior and senior faculty to become leaders at MCW and nationally. He has also held numerous national leadership roles in medicine, including serving the National Academy of Medicine in their efforts to address physician well-being; Chair of the Board of Directors for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC); Chair of the AAMC Council of Deans; President of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology; and President of the International Society for Otitis Media.

MCW President and CEO John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, issued this statement on Dr. Kerschner’s leadership and tenure at MCW:

“Dr. Kerschner has been a trusted thought leader and partner since I arrived at the Medical College of Wisconsin in July 2010. He has brought an infectious enthusiasm, energy and work ethic to his many roles here. He has also helped to elevate our missions, support our people, enhance our visibility – throughout the state, country and globally – and enrich our partnerships across multiple venues and entities. I will miss his wise counsel, quick wit and deep love for MCW, which he has demonstrated daily since his years here as a medical student.

The entire Medical College of Wisconsin community is immensely grateful to Dr. Kerschner for his dedicated years of steadfast leadership, innumerous contributions, collegiality and unwavering commitment to MCW.”

To steward the institution during the transition period, the following individuals have been selected to serve as Interim Dean of the School of Medicine and Interim Provost:

• Deborah M. Costakos, MD, MS, Chair and Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has been named Interim Dean Designate of the School of Medicine effective Nov. 1. She will assume full responsibility for this role on Jan. 1, 2025.
• Cheryl A. Maurana, PhD, MCW Eminent Scholar, Senior Vice President for Strategic Academic Partnerships, Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, and Founding Director of the Kern National Network for Flourishing in Medicine, has been named Interim Provost Designate effective Nov. 1.