David J. Skorton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 5th President and CEO of theAssociation of American Medical Colleges | |
| Assumed office July 15, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Darrell Kirch |
| 13th Secretary of theSmithsonian Institution | |
| In office July 1, 2015 – June 15, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | G. Wayne Clough |
| Succeeded by | Lonnie Bunch |
| 12th President of Cornell University | |
| In office July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey S. Lehman |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Garrett |
| 19th President of theUniversity of Iowa | |
| In office March 1, 2003 – June 30, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Mary Sue Coleman |
| Succeeded by | Sally Mason |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Jan Skorton 1949 (age 75–76) |
| Spouse | Robin L. Davisson |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Biomedical engineering |
| Institutions | University of Iowa Cornell University |
David Jan Skorton is an American physician and academic. He has been president and chief executive officer of theAssociation of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) since July 15, 2019.[1] Prior to the AAMC, he led theSmithsonian Institution, as its 13th Secretary from July 2015 to June 2019.[2] Acardiologist, he was president ofCornell University from 2006 to 2015.[3][4] Before arriving at Cornell, he served as president of theUniversity of Iowa, where he had been a longtime professor and then vice president. He began his career as a professor of medicine and engineering.[5] He was the first physician to serve as president of the Smithsonian Institution.
Skorton studied at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles before transferring toNorthwestern University, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree inpsychology in 1970 and anM.D. in 1974.[6] He completed his medicalresidency and fellowship incardiology atUCLA, where he also served as chief medical resident.
Skorton began his career inIowa in 1980, when he became an instructor at theUniversity of Iowa. In 1981, he was named an assistant professor in internal medicine, and in 1982 he became an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering.[7] While at the University of Iowa, he also served as vice president for research and vice president for external relations. Skorton was selected to serve the state as the 19th president of the university.[8] He was appointed by the Board of Regents on January 5, 2003, and he served until 2006.
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Skorton was named as the 12th president ofCornell University on January 21, 2006. He stayed at the University of Iowa for the duration of the 2006 spring semester and officially assumed the Cornell presidency on July 1, 2006.[6] His inauguration occurred on September 7, 2006. In celebration of the occasion, theCornell Dairy unveiled a new flavor ofice cream, "Banana-Berry Skorton."[9] In 2014 Cornell announced that he would be departing to join the Smithsonian Institution, with his final day as president being June 30, 2015.[10]
Skorton has been cited as one factor in increased donations to the university.[11] During his tenure as president, Cornell's capital campaign raised over $4 billion in six years' time.[12]
According to Cornell University, Skorton's base salary as president was $686,683 for 2009–2010.[13] Skorton held two academic positions while serving as president: a professor of pediatrics and internal medicine atWeill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and a professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell's College of Engineering on the Ithaca campus.[14]
Skorton chaired the Business-Higher Education Forum and the Task Force on Diversifying the New York State Economy through Industry-Higher Education Partnerships.[6] He established a University Diversity Council at Cornell University in 2006 and presently serves as its co-chair.[15] He also writes monthly guest columns for the independent student newspaper,The Cornell Daily Sun, a bi-monthly column for the Cornell Alumni Magazine, and blogs for Forbes.com and the Huffington Post.[6] Skorton also spearheaded the Reimagining Cornell initiative.[16]
In 2011, Skorton led Cornell's effort to build a new applied sciences campus in New York City, in response to a competition designed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to boost the city's technology startup sector. In partnership with theTechnion - Israel Institute of Technology, Cornell was selected as the competition's winner on December 19, 2011.[17] In exchange for free land and $100 million for infrastructure upgrades, Cornell promised to invest over $2 billion in the new campus, called Cornell NYC Tech, over the next three decades.[17]
Construction of the campus began in 2014 on the site of the Goldwater Hospital Campus on Roosevelt Island.[18] On May 21, 2012, Skorton appeared at Google's New York headquarters to announce that the tech company would donate up to 58,000 square feet of space to houseCornell NYC Tech until the campus opened on Roosevelt Island in 2017.[18]
Skorton was a proponent ofimmigration reform, testifying on behalf of theAssociation of American Universities before theSenate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security in support of theDREAM Act[19] and specifically to allow more skilled immigrants to live and work in the United States.[20]
Skorton argued that preserving college affordability must be a major priority of universities and Congress. Cornell substantially increased need-based financial aid under his tenure to off-set tuition increases.[21]
Skorton took national public positions onfraternity hazing andsuicide prevention. Skorton pledged to end hazing in thefraternity and sorority system, and wrote an op-ed on the topic inThe New York Times.[22]
In 2010, Skorton responded to three student suicides[23] by speaking out nationally forsuicide prevention, as well as authorizing the construction of barriers on the bridges overCornell's gorges and increasing resources for counseling on campus. Skorton also spoke out about the continued importance of the humanities to society.[24] The barriers were removed in favor of nets that were installed under each major bridge - a historically common place for suicides at Cornell.[25]
Skorton joined eight other University presidents in signing a statement addressing gun violence in January 2013. The document called for the United States to "confront its culture of violence, particularly violence perpetrated by guns".[26]
Skorton became the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on July 1, 2015.[1] During his tenure the Smithsonian opened theNational Museum of African American History and Culture, its first new facility on theNational Mall since the opening of theNational Museum of the American Indian in 2004.[citation needed]
He was elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 2017.[27]
In December 2018, the Smithsonian announced[28] that Skorton would be leaving his position in June 2019 to become president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges.Lonnie Bunch, director of the African American History Museum, succeeded Skorton and became the 14th Secretary on June 16, 2019.[29]
David Skorton is president and CEO of theAssociation of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.[30]
When he assumed the presidency of the AAMC, Skorton said he would focus on three challenges:diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); mental health and substance use disorders; and access and affordability of care.[30]
In November 2019, he wrote an op-ed forThe Washington Post that called for the Supreme Court to consider the negative effects that would result from deporting the approximately 27,000 healthcare workers withDACA status. This was just before the Supreme Court began its DACA hearings.[30] In June 2020, when the Supreme Court ruled that DACA could not be ended, Skorton praised the decision, stating that the AAMC was appreciative that the ruling allowed those healthcare workers to continue providing care throughout the U.S.[31]
In January 2020, he issued a call to action to medical schools as the first step in an initiative to improve equity in pay, promotion, and other areas for women.[30] In December 2019, the AAMC released data that showed that, for the first time in history, women comprise the majority of enrolled medical students in the U.S. at 50.5%.[32]
In response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of structural racism on people in vulnerable communities, Skorton argued that there is a need for a national standardized system for the collection of race and ethnicity data related to the pandemic.[33] He and David Acosta, chief diversity and inclusion officer at the AAMC, released a statement that the coronavirus pandemic "laid bare" the racial health inequalities that lead to health disparities, poor health outcomes, and lower life expectancy seen in black communities.[34]
After less than a year in office, Skorton was responsible for leading the AAMC's 171 medical schools and over 400 teaching hospitals and systems through the initial phases of the coronavirus pandemic.[30] Throughout 2020, the AAMC was criticized for continuing to hold theMCAT exam in person during theCOVID pandemic.[35]
In July 2020, Skorton joined other executives at the AAMC in issuing a statement in support ofDr. Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious disease official.[36][37] Later that month, Skorton oversaw the release of a proposed plan to reset the U.S.’s response to the pandemic. The plan consisted of nine immediate actions, such as increasing production of key supplies and establishing national criteria for stay-at-home orders; and two longer-term actions, including broadening health insurance.[38] In August 2020, Skorton released a statement that the AAMC was alarmed at changes to the CDC’s testing guidelines for individuals not showing symptoms of the disease.[39]
In 2020, Skorton was named a volunteer member of theJoe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the arts and humanities.[40] Skorton is an avid musician. He once worked as a professional jazz and R&B performer in the Chicago area. He began playing saxophone at age 9[41] and also plays the flute. He was also co-host of a weekly program, "As Night Falls - Latin Jazz," on KSUI FM, the University of Iowa's public radio station.[42]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 19th President of theUniversity of Iowa 2002–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 12thPresident of Cornell University 2006–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | 13th Secretary of theSmithsonian Institution 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
