Experienced management and medical executive to become Provost and Dean of EVMS

Story Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:12:00 EDT

Eastern Virginia Medical School has recruited Richard V. Homan, MD, a family physician with extensive academic and management experience, to become Provost and Dean of the institution. Within two years, Dr. Homan will transition into an expanded role as President and Dean of EVMS.

The Board of Visitors voted unanimously September 13 in support of Dr. Homan's appointment.

Harry T. Lester, President of EVMS, says Dr. Homan is well qualified to lead the school and to eventually merge the roles of President and Dean.

"Dr. Homan brings a superb combination of academic, clinical and business sense," President Lester says. "He has a proven track record of visionary leadership and strategic management. Based on our interactions with him and with those who know him well, it's clear he is a man of great integrity.

"His accomplishments demonstrate he is capable of growing programs and strengthening academic partnerships for the benefit of the school and the community it serves. I believe he's the right person to help us achieve our vision to become the most community-oriented medical school in the nation."

"It is an honor to be Dean of a medical school," Dr. Homan says, "and I am particularly proud to be selected to serve as Provost and Dean of EVMS, a school known for its commitment to the community.

"I look forward to working with the outstanding faculty and students to enhance the school's educational, research and patient care missions and to build even stronger clinical collaborations with our hospital partners. EVMS has built a strong foundation and accomplished much. I am thrilled to join the school at a time when it is poised to do great things."

Dr. Homan has held several senior leadership positions during 24 years in academic medicine.

He is currently President and Annenberg Dean of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, where he also is Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and CEO of Drexel University Physicians, among other roles. Drexel has the largest enrollment in the nation among private medical schools, enrolling approximately 1,100 medical students, 180 doctoral students and more than 750 graduate professional study program students.

Previously, Dr. Homan was Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Clinical Affairs at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Homan will follow Gerald J. Pepe, PhD, who has served in that role since 2004. Dr. Pepe is returning to his former post as Chair of physiological sciences.

Maurice Jones, Rector of the EVMS Board of Visitors, also applauded the selection of Dr. Homan.

"Over the last two decades, Dr. Homan has demonstrated his effectiveness as a leader at two outstanding medical schools," says Mr. Jones. "We are fortunate to have someone of his intellect and talent to join the school's leadership. He clearly has a passion for medical education and a great appreciation for the many benefits that a medical school brings to a community."

Dr. Homan earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine. He completed residency training and served as Chief Resident at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of the Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pa.

Following his residency, Dr. Homan served two years with the U.S. Public Health Service at the Whiteriver Indian Health Service Hospital in Arizona. He then began his academic medical career as Assistant Residency Director and Medical Director of the Family Practice Residency Program Clinic at the Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Pennsylvania, in Williamsport, Pa.

In 1989, Dr. Homan began a 16-year affiliation with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. He took on a series of increasingly responsible roles including Director of the family medicine residency program, Chair of family medicine, Chief of Staff, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Finance, Co-Director of the sports medicine fellowship, Dean of the School of Biomedical Science and Founding Director of the school's Institute of Aging.

Dr. Homan managed all operations of the School of Medicine, the Office of Managed Care, the Office of Correctional Health and the faculty practice plan and served as chief executive and academic officer with an operating budget of over $300 million. He improved the school's financial status and capital infrastructure, participated in the development of the independently LCME-accredited Texas Tech El Paso Medical School and coordinated the school's first curriculum redesign since 1969. Dr. Homan was Dean and Vice President for Clinical Affairs when he left to join Drexel in 2005.

At Drexel, he is Chief Academic and Chief Executive Officer for the College of Medicine, expanding graduate student program enrollment by 50 percent and overseeing the increase of research expenditures to over $50 million per annum. His oversight includes 16 affiliated teaching hospitals and three regional academic campuses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also is President of the company that provides liability insurance for College of Medicine faculty and CEO of the faculty practice plan, having developed the group's founding governance structure and increased clinical revenue from $50 million to $75 million in six years.

Dr. Homan is board certified in family medicine, and he holds added qualifications in geriatric medicine and sports medicine.

Dr. Homan will assume leadership following a period of significant growth at the school. EVMS recently built a 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art medical education and research building. The school is using that extra space to expand enrollment. The new building also provides a home for the school's Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center.