Saying goodbye to friends and colleagues is always hard, particularly when those individuals have contributed so much to our community for many years. However, these emotions are tempered by our pride when they move on to new opportunities of leadership and influence. Thus it is with these complex feelings representing bitter and sweet that I share the news of Dr. Gary Rosenthal’s departure from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa. Dr. Rosenthal has accepted the position as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief at Wake Forest Baptist Health effective September 12, 2016.
Dr. Rosenthal currently holds the Roy J. Carver Chair of Internal Medicine and is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Management and Policy. He is also the Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), a cornerstone of innovation and collaboration within our institution. He has been the principal investigator for the multi-million dollar, NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award, which funds the ICTS. For 18 months through December 2015, Dr. Rosenthal served with distinction as Interim Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. His passionate advocacy for our faculty and trainees represented his commitment and devotion to the Department he served. Prior to that he served as Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine for 13 years. During his tenure, he grew the Division of General Internal Medicine to new heights of excellence in research and clinical innovation, for which it is nationally recognized.
Our department is saying farewell to one of the most accomplished academic physicians to have served the UIHC and the Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Rosenthal’s ability to manage our tri-partite mission of providing excellence in clinical care, training the next generation of physicians, and advancing the cause of science through research is difficult to match. His national and international reputation is reflected in his 165 high-impact publications as well as his regular invitations to instruct others around the world. His influence on improving health care quality, his pragmatic decisiveness and insistence on evidence-based outcomes, and his dedication to multi-disciplinary research will be sorely missed at this institution.
More than all that, this department will miss Dr. Rosenthal’s good humor, his grace under pressure, and the collegiality that develops from daily interactions as we solved our shared problems and celebrated our shared successes. On behalf of the Department of Internal Medicine, I want to wish Gary and his wife, Dr. Nancy Rosenthal, who is also joining the faculty at Wake Forest Baptist, our heartfelt congratulations and our best wishes for their future endeavors. Formal plans to recognize Gary’s contribution to our Department will be forthcoming.
— Dale