Faculty Recognitions: Lifetime Service & Leadership Award

We are proud to announce that the Department of Medicine chair, David S. Stephens, MD, has been selected the winner of the inaugural Lifetime Service and Leadership Award! The School of Medicine Lifetime Service and Leadership Award has been established by the School of Medicine Recognitions Committee on behalf of the Dean to recognize a faculty member’s significant service to Emory University School of Medicine through personal activities, influence, and leadership over the course of many years.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Stephens on receiving this recognition for his long-lasting contributions to the department, the school, and the university!

David S. Stephens, MD (Chair, Department of Medicine)

“During his nearly four decades on faculty at Emory, David has shown remarkable leadership, boundless energy and vision in shaping and advancing the academic mission in the SOM and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center. His service has been and continues to be highly impactful, creative and always focused on the greater good of the institution rather than personal advancement.”

“Within 10 years of his arrival, he was named Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases (ID), a position he held for the next 21 years. During his time as ID Division Director, David recruited over 75 new faculty and more than doubled the size of the ID faculty. Under his leadership, the Division thrived and became the most successful research division as measured by funded awards in the Department of Medicine. In 1998, when asked by the Dean to take the lead on Emory’s effort to compete for the newly established NIH K30 Clinical Research Program, David spearheaded the application process, became the founding Principal Investigator (PI) for the institutional K-30 award and served in the PI role from 1999-2005, establishing a clinical research curriculum that became the MSCR Program at Emory. He subsequently served as the founding PI for the NIH CTSA award, establishing the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) now known as the Georgia CTSA.”

“Dr. Stephens’s leadership roles at Emory have expanded over time and have become even more impactful as a result. In addition to the ID Division Director position, he served as Interim Chair of the Department of Medicine (DOM) in 1999, Executive Vice-Chair of the DOM from 1999-2005, Executive Associate Dean for Research from 2005-2008, Vice President for Research in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center from 2007-present, Chair of the Department of Medicine from 2013-present, and Interim Dean of the SOM from 2016-2017. In each of these roles, he has spearheaded initiatives for the betterment of the institution. He rolls up his sleeves and takes the lead in developing strategic projects for Emory and beyond.”

“Most recently, as Interim Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Stephens led the School through a difficult transition. His tenure as dean was not simply a case of maintaining the status quo, but he was able to reinvigorate the basic sciences by supporting recruitment of new faculty, shepherd the new promotion guidelines through Provost and Board of Trustees approval, and unify the chairs so that our new dean inherited a much more cohesive and forward-looking unit. David Stephens has made enormous strategic contributions to the research mission at Emory and the SOM. He has been a visionary, selfless in his dedication, and highly effective in his leadership and service at this institution.”

To view the original School of Medicine award post, visit: http://2018recweek.strikingly.com/blog/lifetime-award.