David Stevenson, PhD, will become co-chair of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s MD Admissions Committee on July 1 when Joey Barnett, PhD, steps down on June 30 upon completion of his five-year term.
Stevenson is professor of Health Policy and serves as vice chair for Education and director of Health Policy Education. He received a BA in religion from Oberlin College, an S.M. in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a PhD in health policy from Harvard University. He served as an assistant professor and subsequently associate professor at Harvard Medical School before joining Vanderbilt in 2013.
Stevenson’s primary research interests are long-term care and end-of-life care. Among other leadership positions, he recently served as a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Quality of Care in Nursing Homes. Stevenson served as a research area director in the medical school research curriculum where he mentored medical students who were performing their required research immersion in the domains of ethics, education, and public policy. In this role, he was involved in developing components of this required curricular element and the development of assessment tools and practices for the experience. He also has served as a block leader and course director within Foundations of Healthcare Delivery, in addition to teaching in learning communities and other parts of the curriculum.
Stevenson has served as an interviewer on the Admissions Committee, chair of the MD criminal background check committee, and as a member of the admissions interview review subcommittee.
“I want to thank Dr. Barnett for his leadership as co-chair with Dr. Cathy Fuchs. Over the past five years, they reviewed record numbers of applications, managed the process through a pandemic, and helped increase the diversity of the student body,” said senior associate dean of Health Sciences Education, Donald Brady, MD. “I’m also very excited about David’s inheriting the mantle. His track record of participation in the admissions process combined with his desire to explore new leadership roles and to continue to help us diversify our student body and the faculty who are involved in the admissions process makes him an excellent choice for this role.”
“I’m excited for this role for two big reasons — first, to be part of and to learn from a fantastic team; and, second, to be centrally engaged in helping identify and recruit incoming medical students who look like and are engaged with the diverse communities around us,” Stevenson said. “It is humbling to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Barnett; there are few faculty who are as committed as he is to students.”
