Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H., has been named Mark and Pam Rubin Dean and Chief Executive Officer for Clinical Affairs of the UC Riverside School of Medicine, UC Riverside Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox announced.
The appointment was confirmed today (April 18) by the University of California Regents Committee on Health Services. The Mark and Pam Rubin deanship was created with a generous gift from UC Riverside benefactors Mark and Pam Rubin of Beverly Hills.
Deas will join UC Riverside on May 16, moving from her previous position as interim dean of the College of Medicine and professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.
In making the announcement, Wilcox said:
“Dr. Deas brings an exceptional record of commitment to medical education and research, clinical affairs, and addressing the comprehensive health care needs of underserved communities, with a firm commitment to diversifying the physician workforce. We look forward to the leadership she will bring to our campus and community.”
Deeply committed to the mission of the school
Deas, who grew up on a farm in Adams Run, S.C., said, she is excited to join UC Riverside because she is deeply committed to the mission of the campus and the school.
“I know all too well what underserved populations grapple with in terms of education, employment, and health care,” she said. “The mission of the UCR School of Medicine in training a diverse physician workforce and developing programs in research and clinical care to serve these populations aligns with my passion and my values. I have advocated for progress on these issues throughout my career.”
At the Medical University of South Carolina, Deas has served as senior associate dean for medical education, chief academic officer, associate dean for admissions and led the College of Medicine’s committee on accreditation by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education.
She also has been active with the Association of American Medical Colleges, serving in a leadership role nationally on several initiatives in medical education, student affairs, faculty affairs, diversity and inclusion, and women in medicine.
She is a recognized leader in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, where she served as counselor-at-large. Deas is a leading researcher of adolescent substance abuse treatment, anxiety disorders, and depression, and has led several research initiatives funded by the National Institutes of Health and other public and private supporters. Among other subjects, her research has focused on youth binge drinking, adolescent nicotine dependence, marijuana use and panic disorder, and pharmaceutical treatment of pediatric depressive disorder. A reviewer for several academic journals, she has earned recognition as one of the U.S. News & World Report best doctors in America in each of the past eight years.
Deas earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Charleston, a master of public health degree from the University of South Carolina, and an M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Medicine.
Deas was appointed to the UC Riverside post at an annual salary of $625,000 funded by non-state sources, plus eligibility for an additional $150,000 bonus/incentive “Z” payment under the University of California’s Health Sciences Compensation Plan [APM- 670].
About the UC Riverside School of Medicine
The School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, was the first public medical school created in California in more than 40 years. The school has the distinctive mission of training a diverse physician workforce and developing research and healthcare delivery programs to improve the health of medically underserved populations in the Inland Empire region of California. The medical school also offers a Ph.D. program in biomedical sciences, and operates five residency training programs in the family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery and psychiatry, and primary care pediatrics (in partnership with Loma Linda University).
The school currently enrolls 150 medical students and will graduate its first class in 2017. Plans are to grow enrollment to 275 medical students, 160 postgraduates (residents) and approximately 50 Ph.D. students by 2021. The School of Medicine has five residency programs in the areas of internal medicine, general surgery, psychiatry and two in family medicine, with additional training programs in development. The School also partners with Loma Linda University in a primary care pediatrics residency track.
In announcing the appointment, Chancellor Wilcox thanked the UC Riverside School of Medicine decanal search committee for its service. Those members were:
- Joseph Childers, dean of graduate division and committee chair
- Kathy Barton, executive director, strategic initiatives, School of Medicine
- Iryna Ethell, professor, biomedical sciences
- Exequiel Ezcurra, professor, botany and plant sciences, and director, UC-MEXUS
- Anthony Fenison, president, J.W. Vines Medical Society
- Thomas Haider, chief, spine division, Riverside County Regional Medical Center
- Christopher Holland, School of Medicine student representative
- David Lo, distinguished professor, biomedical sciences
- Gerald Maguire, chair, psychiatry
- Mary Marcinko, assistant clinical professor
- Juliet McMullin, associate professor, anthropology
- Michael Nduati, associate dean, clinical affairs
- Michael Pazzani, vice chancellor, research and economic development
- Cindy Roth, president/chief executive officer, Riverside Chamber of Commerce
