New dean charts the course for School of Medicine

Third-generation physician.

Former Illinois All-State high school football player.

Founding director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Research on Reproductive and Women’s Health.

When Jerome F. Strauss III this fall added another title to his resume by becoming the dean of the School of Medicine for VCU’s Medical Campus, he succeeded Heber H. “Dickie” Newsome, who retired in June after four decades with VCU.

“I appreciate the warm welcome from a fine institution and from the students,” Strauss said. “The School of Medicine is one of the gems of VCU.”

Polishing this gem to nationally recognized brilliance ranks high on his to-do list.

For starters, Strauss plans to hire more faculty and add classroom space. Some projects are already under way. One of them is the groundbreaking for Phase Two of the Medical Sciences Building. The facility will contain 125, 000 more square feet of laboratory and academic space. Plans for a School of Public Health are on the drawing board.

“It will emerge as an individual entity-a domain of scholarship,” Strauss said, explaining that the public health school is now a part of the medical school. “Disease prevention and environmental health affects the population. We need strength in public health and health policies to achieve high quality of care.”

Additionally, he said, healthy-lifestyle promotion and knowledge of the risks and consequences of unhealthy actions should begin early to strengthen public health.

For instance, the dean identified smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise as factors causing such diseases as obesity to become epidemics.

“We’ve watched without intervention,” said Strauss, who completed his medical degree and doctorate in molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “We’ll pay down the road.”

A Chicago native with a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I., Strauss also described strategies for creating substantial growth in research and discovery.

“We have strong programs (here) in research and clinical care,” he said. “I hope we will be tapping resources to expand into areas we’ve not been in before.”

Sheldon Retchin, vice president for health services and CEO of VCU Health Systems, called Strauss a strong students’ dean, explaining that one of the dean’s top issues concerns the high debts students face once they enter medical school.

By the time the typical medical student graduates, after years of study, clinical rotations and residency, that person could owe an amount equal to the cost of a new home.

“Dr. Strauss is appealing for more philanthropy,” Retchin said, “and is looking at methods for increasing the scholarships available. Alumni know the value of a school.”

Ashley Hall, president of the VCU-MCV Student Government Association and a fourth-year medical student, said more scholarships could assist in unraveling one of the medical school’s biggest challenges.

“A big concern is ‘How am I gonna pay off my debts?’ ” she said. “The new dean will be a great asset for us and the MCV campus. We are relying on alumni providing scholarships for us.”

Furthermore, Hall said that Strauss will serve as a mediator among various medical programs, such as allied health, pharmacy, dentistry and nursing.

“The dean can help keep the lines of communication open between schools,” she said, “to make sure we know what’s going on. He’ll give us a way to communicate with administration too.”

Retchin likens Strauss to a strategic compass on the medical campus, describing Strauss’ personality, expertise and intelligence as one that generates ideas to lead the medical school in bold new directions.

“If I could have designed the ideal candidate to take the school to new levels of preeminence,” Retchin said, “it would be Jerry Strauss. His role has a tremendous influence on campus. The university community and the science and medical communities will be pleased with the results.”

To Strauss, strengths of the medical campus belong to its cancer research and treatment. He points to its strong research areas in neuroscience, cardiovascular health and gastrointestinal diseases. Still, he said he would like to expand studies in such areas as pathogens, infectious diseases and restorative medicine.

An aging population, he said, will require more regenerative technology such as replacement devices or biochemically created materials to repair organ systems and fight diseases.

“As the School of Medicine, we offer people promises – that they’ll be cured or get better,” Strauss said. “We have to deliver on that promise.”

Medical students play a critical role in Strauss’ agenda.

“We’re banking a lot on them,” he said. “They’re our future. Our ultimate goal is improving the health of the commonwealth. People want effective treatments, and we promise we’ll deliver. We promise to educate, and the public will reap the rewards.”

Retchin offered a glimpse into the future of the medical school with Strauss charting the course.

“I think we’ll look back on the ‘Strauss era’ as a golden era,” he said.