By Sharon Gray
 |
| Dr.
James Rourke |
The Board of Regents has announced that Dr.
James Rourke will be the new dean of medicine at Memorial
effective April 5, 2004. Dr. Rourke is currently the assistant
dean of Rural Regional Medicine at the University of Western
Ontario. (UWO)
“Consultations with the community around
the choice of a new dean of medicine showed substantial
support for each of the three final candidates,” said
Dr. Evan Simpson, vice-president (academic) and chair of
the search committee. “But the search committee has
been able to reach agreement that the next dean of the faculty
should be Dr. James Rourke. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank Dr. Ian Bowmer for his effective stewardship of
the faculty over the last eight years. He has set a high
standard and been a fine co-worker.”
Dr. Bowmer steps down as dean Dec. 31 and the board has
announced that Dr. Sharon Peters, vice-dean for professional
affairs in the Faculty of Medicine, will serve until Dr.
Rourke begins his term.
Dr. Rourke is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine
at the UWO, and has been an active rural family physician
(including obstetrics and emergency work) in Goderich, Ontario
for 25 years. He is the founding director of the Southwestern
Ontario Rural Regional Medical Education, Research, and
Development Unit (SWORRM), founded in 1997 and funded by
the Ontario Ministry of Health to develop, integrate and
co-ordinate rural medicine at the UWO. Dr. Rourke has worked
with the university and 33 communities, family physicians,
and specialists to build a strong, integrated undergraduate
and postgraduate rural and regional medical education network
that set the stage for a 40 per cent expansion in the UWO
medical school. (See www.sworm.on.ca
for more details.)
Dr. Rourke has a long-standing interest in rural medicine,
and is a recognized leader at provincial, national, and
international levels. He has received many honours and awards
and has had more than 60 journal articles published.
Dr. Rourke brings a management style he describes as collaborative
leadership and partnership building, and he is comfortable
working with a wide variety of people and issues. “I
am looking forward to joining with the Faculty of Medicine
and all partners to build the medical education and research
strengths of Memorial University as it continues to play
a major role in health care and research in Newfoundland
and Labrador, and in Canada as a whole.”
Dr. Leslie Rourke will join her husband at Memorial University,
practising and teaching family medicine as an associate
professor. Dr. Leslie Rourke received the UWO 2002 Martin
Bass Award for her contribution to the Discipline of Family
Medicine. The Rourkes have three children – Patrick,
Ryan and Shannon – who will all be attending universities
next year.
