Appointment of Dr. Harris A. Berman as Dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine

October 6, 2011

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Harris A. Berman as Dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Berman has served with distinction as Dean ad interim since December 2009, and has been an outstanding leader in the University community.

As interim Dean, Dr. Berman has done much more than oversee and guide the school’s operations. He has adroitly balanced practical problem-solving with strategic thinking, and as a result, the school is noticeably stronger than it was two years ago. Dr. Berman has led efforts to develop new programs that are academically sound, build connections to other Tufts schools, help fulfill national needs for the delivery of health care, and contribute to the school’s financial stabilization.

With the recent successful recruitment of Dr. John Leong to the department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Dr. Berman has filled the last of several open department chair positions. He has also helped to bring in other key clinical and basic science faculty members. He has spearheaded the expansion of the Global Health Program, increasing our international reputation through collaborations with teaching and research institutions overseas. Such partnerships offer important training opportunities for our medical students pursuing work in global health care research and delivery. These accomplishments and others have re-energized the atmosphere at the school, and helped advance important University priorities.

Prior to his appointment as interim Dean, Dr. Berman was Dean of Public Health and Professional Degree Programs and had served as Chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine from 2003 to 2008. Before coming to Tufts University, he was a pioneer in the development of managed care in New England, and for 17 years, served as the chief executive officer of the Tufts Health Plan. During that tenure, Tufts Health Plan grew from 60,000 to over a million members. Before joining Tufts Health Plan, he co-founded the Matthew Thornton Health Plan in Nashua, NH, one of the first HMOs in New England. He has served as chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Association of HMOs, and of the Celebrity Series of Boston. He has also been a director of the American Association of Health Plans and of Tufts Medical Center. He is currently a Commissioner for the Group Insurance Commission and a member of the Board of Directors of Tufts Medical Center, Tufts Health Care Institute, New England Healthcare Institute, The Wolfson Foundation, and Tufts Health Plan.

Dr. Berman further embodies the University’s values of active citizenship and internationalism through his experience as a Peace Corps physician in India and a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development on several projects. He has effectively used that experience to promote a global health agenda for the Medical School.

A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Berman served as a resident on the Harvard Medical Service of Boston City Hospital and at Tufts-New England Medical Center, and completed an infectious disease fellowship at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Please join President Monaco and me in congratulating Dr. Berman on his appointment.

Sincerely,

Peggy Newell
Provost and Senior Vice President ad interim