Morehouse School of Medicine Announces Planned Retirement of Pres. John Maupin

Morehouse School of Medicine recently announced that a planned retirement for their current President, John Maupin, will bring a leadership transition after the 2014 school year.  

Effective July 1, 2014, after the end of the upcoming academic year, Dr. Maupin will be succeeded by Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., a Harvard-educated obstetrician and gynecologist, who was named as executive vice president and dean in 2011. 

According to the Morehouse announcement, Dr. Maupin's retirement closes a, "celebrated tenure and an over 30-year accomplished career in academic medicine, healthcare administration and public health."

“We are appreciative for the service and superior leadership Dr. Maupin displayed during his seven-year tenure as president,” said Anthony Welters, chairman of MSM’s board of trustees, executive vice president of United Health Group and member of the office of the CEO. “Under Dr. Maupin’s guidance, the school has made significant advances, expanding academic programs and clinical affiliations, creating innovative partnerships, modernizing facilities, and strengthening the infrastructure to better support research, patient care and teaching.”

John E. Maupin Jr., DDS, is the fifth president of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and has more than 30 years of experience in health-care administration, public health and academic medicine.

Prior to joining MSM on July 1, 2006, Maupin served as president of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, for 12 years, where he was the first alumnus and the second dentist to lead the institution. Under his leadership, Meharry experienced many significant achievements, most notably expansion of clinical affiliations anchored by the relocation of the city’s public hospital, Nashville General, to its campus; creation of a nationally acclaimed academic alliance with Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and the tripling of research funding, anchored by the establishment of signature research programs in cancer, HIV/AIDS, women’s health, and unintentional injury.

Maupin is no stranger to MSM, having served as executive vice president and chief operating officer from 1989 to 1994. Additionally, during his tenure he served as executive director of Morehouse Medical Associates, the school’s faculty practice plan. Maupin also was one of the visionaries in the conceptualization of the school’s National Center for Primary Care. From 1987 to 1989, Maupin served as chief executive officer of Southside Healthcare, Inc. in Atlanta, GA, one of the largest federally qualified community health centers in the southeastern United States and a clinical training site for MSM students and residents.

With this announcement, Dr. Montgomery Rice becomes the nation’s first African-American woman to lead a free-standing medical school as chief executive officer.

Cascade Patch will have more to come on Dr. Montgomery Rice and her outstanding accomplishments. 

(Morehouse School of Medicine contributed to this article)