FOR RELEASE: July 17, 2006

GALVESTON, Texas — The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Medicine today announced the appointment of Dr. T. Samuel Shomaker as dean of Austin programs.

Shomaker is chief executive officer and acting dean for the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. In his new role, he will seek to expand and further strengthen the university’s collaborative teaching, research and clinical programs in Austin, according to Dr. Valerie Parisi, dean of the UTMB School of Medicine.

“We’ve been developing a network of collaborations in Austin since the 1950s, when UTMB medical students first began doing rotations there,” Parisi noted. “Today, our vigorous partnerships with the University of Texas at Austin, the Seton Healthcare Network and Central Texas Veterans Administration—to name just a few—form the firm foundation for our future activities in the region.”

“I am confident Dr. Shomaker will be an innovative leader who will help ensure the vitality and growth of the Austin programs and forge even stronger alliances among the Seton Healthcare Network, the University of Texas at Austin, UT System, the Travis County Medical Society and Hospital District, UTMB and the greater Austin community,” Parisi said.

“I am very excited about my selection as dean of the Austin programs for UTMB,” Shomaker said. “Working with our partners, we will develop educational, research and clinical programs that can serve as national models for quality, innovation, efficiency and safety. Together, we will build upon the great foundation that has already been laid and, with sustained effort over time, realize the full potential of these significant and worthwhile programs.”

Shomaker earned a Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1979, and earned his medical degree in 1986 from the University of Hawaii, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He completed his internship in surgery at the University of Hawaii and residencies in anesthesiology at the University of Utah and the University of Florida.

At the University of Utah, Shomaker served as professor of anesthesiology, residency program director for anesthesiology, associate dean for curriculum and minority affairs, and senior associate dean for academic affairs before being selected as interim dean. In addition to his role as CEO and acting dean at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Hawaii, he has served as vice dean for academic affairs and as vice president and chief operating officer for University Clinical, Education and Research Associates.

Shomaker has received numerous awards in his career, including recognition from the University of Utah in 2000 for outstanding service in the cause of advancing diversity.

“Throughout his career, Dr. Shomaker has been an advocate for diversity and an outstanding teacher, clinician and leader,” Parisi said. “These attributes will add tremendous value to our Austin programs, which are aimed at expanding our ability to train tomorrow’s caregivers and health scientists.”

The University of Texas Medical Branch
Public Affairs Office
301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
www.utmb.edu