Dean John Chapman acknowledged the standing ovation he received upon his introduction at graduation in May, 2000. That year’s VUSM class was the last to receive its degrees from Chapman.
photo by Dana Johnson
Medical School icon Chapman dies at 73
VUSM’s class of 2000 gave Dean John Chapman a group hug following the school’s graduation ceremony at Langford Auditorium.
by Dana Johnson
John and Judy Jean Chapman and their trio of beloved Pekingese, Looty, Pittising and Yum-Yum. Which one's which only the Chapmans know.
From left, Dr. Harry Jacobson, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs; E. Gordon Gee, Chancellor; and Dean Chapman.
photo by Dana Johnson
The entrance to the School of Medicine was renamed in honor of Dean Chapman and his wife, Judy Jean, upon his retirement.
John E. Chapman, M.D., the former, longtime dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who conferred degrees on two-thirds of the school's graduates, died Wednesday, Oct. 13, of complications from Parkinson's Disease. He was 73.
Dr. Chapman, known as a caring, scholarly, hardworking dean who treated individual students individually, led VUSM for a quarter of a century, stepping down in 2001 to assume a new role, associate vice chancellor for Medical Alumni Affairs.
While dean of the medical school, he conferred degrees on more than 3,000 Vanderbilt medical students, and, during his period as dean, grew the faculty by 789 faculty members. Dr. Chapman was part of the appointment process for every department chair appointed during his tenure, and oversaw the initiatives that led to the medical school being consistently ranked number one in the nation in terms of student satisfaction.
“John Chapman was truly a giant of American medical education,” said Harry R. Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs. “He worked long and hard to earn his title of 'Dean of Deans.' He guided the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to the forefront of medical education programs in the nation. His dedication, compassion and devotion to students and medical education are both a credit to him and to Vanderbilt. He will long be remembered here as a caring and insightful man who, more than anything, cared about the quality of medical education that Vanderbilt offered its medical students.”
Dr. Chapman loved history. His office contained a bust of Winston Churchill, who once judged Chapman at a college debate, and photographs of the King and Queen of Sweden from his participation in the Nobel Prize activities in Sweden. He studied the sinking of the Titanic and collected nautical memorabilia and historical documents concerning medicine. In addition to mentoring students and making policy, he was also a lot of fun. He and his wife, Judy Jean, hosted a picnic and pool party at their home each summer to welcome new medical students, and each winter, welcomed students to the Medical School's Cadaver Ball, a social event and student-led evening of skits. He dressed up as a different character each year at the Cadaver Ball – two favorites were Darth Vader and “Super Dean.”
Dr. Chapman accomplished much in his three-plus decades at Vanderbilt. He arrived at Vanderbilt in 1967 from the University of Kansas, and at Vanderbilt served as associate dean for Education; associate professor of Pharmacology; director of Continuing Medical Education; professor of Medical Administration; chair of the division of Medical Administration; and dean of the School of Medicine from 1975 until 2001. By the end of his tenure as dean, he was graduating medical students who were themselves the offspring of medical students he had graduated more than two decades before.
“The culture of our medical school and our medical education programs is largely a result of Dean Chapman's vision, and not only his vision, but his longevity,” said Steven G. Gabbe, M.D., who replaced Dr. Chapman as dean in 2002. “He is the dean with not only the longest tenure in our school's history, but also the dean who made important contributions that are responsible in large part for our school's success in medical education. Vanderbilt is known to be a place that supports students and prioritizes medical education. That's what Dean Chapman did. I remember our first meeting well. He had a book of all of his graduates, and showed me that we had fathers, mothers, sons and daughters among them. He was very proud of that, and that emphasized to me that this was a school that knew each of its graduates well, that made its students welcome, and that sons and daughters of graduates came here to continue the tradition of excellence their parents had helped establish. The day he presented me with the “key” to the medical school was one of the proudest days of my life. I felt like I, too, was graduating…to become a dean.”
For a period of two years, from 1972 to 1974, Dr. Chapman scored the administrative equivalent of a hat trick – serving simultaneously as acting dean of the medical school, acting director of Vanderbilt University Hospital and acting vice chancellor for Health Affairs. During that same period, his wife, Judy Jean served as acting dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
David Robertson, M.D., Elton Yates Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Neurology and director of Vanderbilt's General Clinical Research Center, was one of Chapman's students, graduating from VUSM in 1973. He soon became a colleague. Robertson remembers that Dr. Chapman once told him being a dean was like being a doctor. “He said 'I'm a doctor who has just one patient. My patient is the Vanderbilt Medical School. Everything I do is to maintain and promote its health. And I'm a lucky doctor at that, because I know my patient will long outlive me, and that my legacy will be inherent in my patient's health and character for many years after I am gone.' John Chapman was born to be a dean, and made the study of that role a lifetime activity,” Robertson said. “During his record-breaking tenure, he came to define what a dean could craft with intelligence, good will and dignity. Unlike most deans, John was a constitutional monarch rather than a president. He didn't need to always be in charge. He didn't have to initiate policy. But once policy was decided upon, he showed how important the trait of dignity was to its successful realization.”
Dr. Chapman was a member of virtually every major medical and medical education board or organization, locally, regionally and nationally. He was chair of the composite committee of the USMLE, and during his career chaired the nominating committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Council on Medical Education Nominating Committee, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Nominating Committee, the Southern Council of Medical Deans, the American Medical Association (AMA) section on Medical Schools, and the AAMC Committee on Student Finance. He was also a member of the AMA Task Force on Health Care Reform. He was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine, in London. Perhaps the accomplishment of which he was most proud was being named Foreign Adjunct Professor in 1992 at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, home of the Nobel Prize. The Karolinska Institute, a prestigious research institution, awarded Chapman an honorary doctor of medicine degree in 1986.
“John Chapman was known as 'the dean of the deans' because of his long tenure at Vanderbilt and his role as a leader in national medical organizations,” said Jordan Cohen, M.D., president of the AAMC. “He served as a mentor to new deans, helping them to develop the skills to successfully lead their institutions. He was especially interested in medical student education, the core mission of our nation's medical schools. His countless colleagues and students all benefited from his wise counsel.”
Donald E. Melnick, M.D., president of the National Board of Medical Examiners, said Dr. Chapman was an effective leader of the NBME for nearly a decade, and represented the NBME on the governing and budget committees of the United States Medical Licensing Examination program. “After completion of his official service, John continued to seek opportunities to help in the work of the Board,” Melnick said. “His leadership, intellect, wisdom, and dedication will be sorely missed. His life was an exemplar of consistent passion to make medicine a better profession for his patients, students, and colleagues.”
When he stepped down as dean at Vanderbilt, pledges from alumni, friends throughout the United States and the Vanderbilt Board of Trust established the Dean John E. Chapman Scholarship, which is awarded to two deserving medical students every four years.
In 1999, Richard E. Strain Jr., M.D., a 1975 graduate of VUSM, created the Dr. John E. Chapman Lectureship on the Ecology of Medicine and Medical Education. This annual lectureship, established in memory of Strain's father, is devoted to subjects that address the changing role of medicine in our culture.
In 2000, Dr. Chapman received the Tennessee Medical Association's Distinguished Service Award for 2000, recognizing Chapman's many contributions to the improvement and advancement of health in the Nashville area. And this December, posthumously, he will receive the American Medical Association's 2004 annual distinguished service award, the only one given of its type.
"Dr. John Chapman was a rare individual who combined the qualities of an analytical thinker and a humanist,”said James Rohack, M.D., the 2004-2005 chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. “Over more than 25 years, he held leadership positions in many of the American Medical Association committees with responsibility for ensuring medical education quality; I was privileged to serve with him. His wisdom, kindness, elegant way with words, and keen intellect will be greatly missed."
Ruth Kirschstein, senior advisor to the director of the National Institutes of Health, had a longstanding association with Dr. Chapman. She delivered the Chapman lecture at Vanderbilt in 2001.
“Dr. Chapman was a towering figure in academic medicine for many, many years and I had the privilege of having known and worked with him for most of these years. He served as a member of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, during the early years of my tenure as director of that Institute, and for many years after his term ended was one of my closest advisors related to Institute policies and new initiatives. As deputy director and acting director of NIH in the 1990s, I continued to interact with John and considered him a dear friend and advisor.”
Vanderbilt Chancellor Emeritus Joe B. Wyatt worked with Dr. Chapman during his entire 18-year tenure as Chancellor. “John's deep understanding of university culture, his impeccably high standards, and his sensitivity to the human issues affecting both students and faculty made his perceptions and advice, flavored with his exquisite sense of humor, always valuable.”
Although current Chancellor Gordon Gee did not work with Dr. Chapman for most of his years as dean, the longtime dean's reputation reached far and wide. “I knew of John Chapman and his profound leadership in medical education for many years,” Gee said. “Once I arrived at Vanderbilt, I learned to value his wisdom and cherish his leadership as much as the many medical students who passed his way.”
Dr. Chapman was born in Springfield, Mo., and in 1954, graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science and a bachelor of science in education degree from Southwest Missouri State University. He received his medical degree in 1958 from the University of Kansas School of Medicine where he also was a resident in internal medicine and a post-doctoral fellow in clinical pharmacology, psychopharmacology and toxicology. After his internship and residency, he joined the University of Kansas faculty as assistant professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and later was assistant dean before coming to Vanderbilt.
He received the Winthrop Sterling Distinguished Lecturer Medal from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1982 and was Alumnus of the Year at Southwest Missouri State University in 1982 and the University of Kansas Medical Center School of Medicine in 1988.
Ann Price, M.D., executive director for Medical Alumni Affairs, said she knew Dr. Chapman not only as a student, but most recently as a colleague. “Throughout these associations, the one word that always comes to mind when I think of John Chapman is 'encourager.' He encouraged all of us to see the best in others and to seek the very best in our own lives. He consistently encouraged us to reach beyond what we often considered our own limitations, to find new planes of accomplishment. All of us fortunate to have experienced Vanderbilt Medical School during his 'watch,' were blessed by his encouragement and are better physicians for having known his unfailing support.”
Dr. Chapman is survived by his wife, Judy Jean.
A public memorial service for Dr. Chapman will be held at 1 p.m. Monday in Vanderbilt’s Benton Chapel. Visitation with the family will be 4-7 p.m. Sunday in Marshall, Donnelly & Combs Funeral Home, 201 25th Ave. N. A private graveside service will be held Monday morning.
Donations can be made to the John E. Chapman Scholars Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Gift Records, VU Station B #357727, Nashville, Tenn. 37235-7727.