The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced Friday that Dr. Michael B. Hocker will replace Dr. John Krouse as dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine.
Hocker, who will take over as dean on June 28, holds the J. Harold Harrison M.D. Distinguished Chair in Emergency Medicine and currently serves as the senior associate dean and designated institutional official for graduate medical education at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, according to a release from UTRGV.
Krouse announced he was stepping down from the post late last year.
Hocker oversees 51 residency and fellowship programs in Augusta, and previously spent 14 years at Duke University School of Medicine, where he helped start what is now considered one of the country’s top emergency medicine training programs, the release says.
“We were fortunate to have a very large and diverse pool of candidates for the dean’s position,” UTRGV President Guy Bailey wrote. “Dr. Hocker stood out from the pool because of the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the operations of a medical school and his experience with both clinical operations and medical education.”
Hocker, a former Navy flight surgeon, graduated from Ft. Lewis College and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the release said. He wrote about his upcoming job and the part he’ll play in it.
“This role is a unique opportunity to lead an evolving medical school, foster its growth and support its critical mission to improve the health of the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, and beyond,” he wrote. “The UTRGV-SOM will accomplish this mission through innovative educational programs, high-quality clinical care, and life and disease-changing discovery.”
