Dr. Jerry Kruse Named Fourth Dean and Provost

The SIU Board of Trustees has voted to appoint Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, as Dean and Provost for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The appointment is effective January 1 and is pending a final contract.

Kruse, a professor of family medicine, has been Executive Associate Dean of SIU School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of SIU HealthCare since 2013. He first joined the school in 1984.

“Dr. Kruse’s knowledge of the medical school, his leadership experience and his commitment to serving the region position him to continue the School of Medicine’s positive trajectory,” said acting Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Randy Dunn, who is also the president of the SIU System. “He brings significant expertise in education and patient care as well as strong knowledge in health care policy and the population health needs of our area. He is well suited to address the opportunities and challenges the School of Medicine faces.” Dunn recommended Kruse’s appointment to the board.

In July and August, Dunn held numerous meetings with School of Medicine employees at all levels to garner their input about selecting the next leader of the medical school.

“From those meetings, it was clear that faculty, staff and students hold Dr. Kruse in high regard,” Dunn said. 
Kruse is the fourth dean for the medical school since its founding in 1970. He will succeed J. Kevin Dorsey, M.D., Ph.D., who will return to teaching medical students in January 2016. Dorsey, a 1978 alumnus whose history with the medical school extends 37 years, has led the school since 2001.

“I am very pleased that Jerry Kruse has been appointed as our next dean and provost,” Dorsey said. “I’ve known Jerry since he joined the medical school in 1984. I’ve always been impressed with his skills as a physician and his dedication to strengthening graduate medical education at a national and local level. He has a strong commitment to all areas of our mission. I know he will be an outstanding leader to guide SIU School of Medicine and SIU HealthCare to new heights of innovation.”

Kruse said he is “honored to be named to this position.”

“I look forward to collaborating on a smooth transition with Dr. Dorsey,” he added.

Prior to his appointments in 2013, Kruse was professor and chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine (1997-2013). He is past-president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. In 2007 he was appointed to the Council on Graduate Medical Education, the multi-specialty advisory committee that reports to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

He joined SIU in 1984 as an assistant professor and assistant director of the Quincy Family & Community Medicine program. He completed a two-year Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship in academic family medicine. He earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine (1984), where he also completed his three-year residency in family medicine (1982). He earned his medical and bachelor's degrees at the University of Missouri-Columbia (1979, 1975).

He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is a member of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP), North American Primary Care Research Group, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Adams County Medical Society and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He was named IAFP’s Family Physician Teacher of the Year in 1991.

A native of Salisbury, Mo., Kruse and his wife, Lois, have three children, Emily, Julia and Anna.

SIU School of Medicine (www.siumed.edu) is a public medical school established in 1970 and focused on the health care needs of downstate Illinois. An international leader in medical education, the school is based in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities. Since opening, nearly 2,700 physicians have graduated from its program.   The SIU Board of Trustees has voted to appoint Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, as Dean and Provost for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The appointment is effective January 1 and is pending a final contract.

Kruse, a professor of family medicine, has been Executive Associate Dean of SIU School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of SIU HealthCare since 2013. He first joined the school in 1984.

“Dr. Kruse’s knowledge of the medical school, his leadership experience and his commitment to serving the region position him to continue the School of Medicine’s positive trajectory,” said acting Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Randy Dunn, who is also the president of the SIU System. “He brings significant expertise in education and patient care as well as strong knowledge in health care policy and the population health needs of our area. He is well suited to address the opportunities and challenges the School of Medicine faces.” Dunn recommended Kruse’s appointment to the board.

In July and August, Dunn held numerous meetings with School of Medicine employees at all levels to garner their input about selecting the next leader of the medical school.

“From those meetings, it was clear that faculty, staff and students hold Dr. Kruse in high regard,” Dunn said. 
Kruse is the fourth dean for the medical school since its founding in 1970. He will succeed J. Kevin Dorsey, M.D., Ph.D., who will return to teaching medical students in January 2016. Dorsey, a 1978 alumnus whose history with the medical school extends 37 years, has led the school since 2001.

“I am very pleased that Jerry Kruse has been appointed as our next dean and provost,” Dorsey said. “I’ve known Jerry since he joined the medical school in 1984. I’ve always been impressed with his skills as a physician and his dedication to strengthening graduate medical education at a national and local level. He has a strong commitment to all areas of our mission. I know he will be an outstanding leader to guide SIU School of Medicine and SIU HealthCare to new heights of innovation.”

Kruse said he is “honored to be named to this position.”

“I look forward to collaborating on a smooth transition with Dr. Dorsey,” he added.

Prior to his appointments in 2013, Kruse was professor and chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine (1997-2013). He is past-president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. In 2007 he was appointed to the Council on Graduate Medical Education, the multi-specialty advisory committee that reports to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

He joined SIU in 1984 as an assistant professor and assistant director of the Quincy Family & Community Medicine program. He completed a two-year Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship in academic family medicine. He earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine (1984), where he also completed his three-year residency in family medicine (1982). He earned his medical and bachelor's degrees at the University of Missouri-Columbia (1979, 1975).

He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is a member of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP), North American Primary Care Research Group, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Adams County Medical Society and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He was named IAFP’s Family Physician Teacher of the Year in 1991.

A native of Salisbury, Mo., Kruse and his wife, Lois, have three children, Emily, Julia and Anna.

SIU School of Medicine (www.siumed.edu) is a public medical school established in 1970 and focused on the health care needs of downstate Illinois. An international leader in medical education, the school is based in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities. Since opening, nearly 2,700 physicians have graduated from its program.