Thank You, Dr. Kerschner!
Dr. Kerschner and medical students celebrate during MCW’s 125th anniversary gala event, September 2018.
Joseph E. Kerschner, MD ’90, FEL ’98, MCW’s executive vice president, provost and the Julia A. Uihlein Dean of the School of Medicine (SOM), is stepping away from these executive leadership roles effective December 31, 2024. He has been named dean emeritus of the SOM as of January 1, 2025.
As Dr. Kerschner returns to the faculty on a full-time basis as a professor in the departments of otolaryngology and communication sciences, and microbiology & immunology, he will continue his work in the Kerschner Laboratory, which has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than two decades and has, among other successes, developed patented drug delivery systems for the treatment of middle and inner ear diseases.
Further, Dr. Kerschner will continue to practice as a pediatric otolaryngologist at Children’s Wisconsin, where his clinical focus is on otitis media, voice disorders and vascular anomalies in children. Additionally, he will direct the newly formed Center for Otologic Drug Discovery at MCW and will have deeper involvement with MCW’s Institute for Health & Equity – continuing the work he has emphasized as dean of the SOM.
Dr. Kerschner with a medical student, 2011.
An MCW faculty member since 1998, Dr. Kerschner was named the tenth dean of the MCW SOM and executive vice president in November 2011 (following 11 months as interim dean) and was installed in these roles in February 2012. Prior to his interim appointment, Dr. Kerschner was CEO of Children’s Specialty Group. Upon his leadership transition, Dr. Kerschner will have served in the dean’s role for 14 years, which is one of the longest tenures of any current medical school dean in the country. Dr. Kerschner assumed the additional role of provost in 2017 and in late 2020, was named the Julia A.Uihlein, MA, Dean of the School of Medicine.
Dr. Kerschner and Michael Dunn, MD ’62, at Dr. Kerschner’s installation as dean of the School of Medicine, February 2012.
It is impossible to encapsulate the full span of Dr. Kerschner’s contributions and accomplishments during his almost 14 years as an executive leader, which have had a transformative impact on MCW’s missions. Several of the most substantive achievements at MCW during Dr. Kerschner’s tenure are noted below.
The SOM substantially expanded its education programs – increasing the number of medical students on its Milwaukee campus and opening regional campuses in Green Bay and Central Wisconsin.
Dr. Kerschner led two successful accreditations for the SOM by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and substantively transformed its curriculum, most recently with the launch of a new curriculum in 2023.
MCW’s graduate medical education program also has greatly expanded, including new training positions for psychiatry and behavioral health, and new residency programs in family and community medicine.
Dr. Kerschner with a patient, 2014.
MCW’s research grant expenditures have reached the highest level in the institution’s history, with NIH funding nearly doubling from 2014 to 2023. In addition, the development of new research and academic areas of expertise have included the formation of a joint Biomedical Engineering Department with Marquette University, a new Data Science Institute and the development of several new centers of research excellence.
Under Dr. Kerschner’s leadership, more than a decade-long commitment to the development of a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center will lead to the submission of the MCW NCI Cancer Center Support Grant this academic year following substantial innovation and growth in cancer research, clinical trials and clinical care.
Renovations and new research facilities have enabled the SOM to create extensive new research space to support its growing research mission, including a new Cancer Research Building that is scheduled to open in mid-2025.
Clinically, Dr. Kerschner’s tenure as the leader of MCW’s physician specialty practices has represented an era of enormous growth. In 2011, MCW’s SOM clinicians provided care through more than 1.6 million inpatient and outpatient visits. In 2023, the school’s clinicians provided care through more than 4.8 million inpatient, outpatient and telemedicine visits. Additionally, Dr. Kerschner has led MCW’s clinicians in collaborating with MCW’s health system partners, resulting in a successful new 30-year affiliation agreement with Children’s Wisconsin and tremendous growth in adult healthcare through acquisitions and mergers.
Dr. Kerschner upon his receipt of the Alumnus of the Year award from the MCW/Marquette Medical Alumni Association, 2015.
The SOM has invested in its community engagement mission in numerous ways, including more than $338 million of investment into more than 600 projects statewide focused on community health improvement, research and health workforce education through the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment. In addition, during Dr. Kerschner’s tenure, MCW’s community engagement mission has grown substantially to include the reformation of the Institute for Health & Equity, the creation of the Center for Advancing Population Science, expansion of the Office of Community Engagement, and the SOM’s receipt of the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement – one of only five medical schools in the US to be so designated.
Dr. Kerschner has collaborated with faculty leaders, MCW’s trustees and the finance team to create $1.6 billion in endowments. He also has worked with many others to help MCW become a much more inclusive organization; under his leadership, the SOM has more than tripled the number of women leaders.
Dr. Kerschner has held numerous national leadership roles in medicine, including serving the National Academy of Medicine in its work to address physician well-being; chair of the board of directors for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC); chair of the AAMC Council of Deans; president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology; and president of the International Society for Otitis Media. His leadership on the national stage has brought to the forefront the achievements and “essentiality” of MCW.
“I have always been grateful for the trust that MCW has placed in me from the earliest times as I journeyed forward as a clinician and scientist,” Dr. Kerschner shares. “It has been an enormous privilege to be part of the leadership teams here at MCW as we have achieved tremendous success over the past 14 years, beginning with my interim role as dean of the School of Medicine. I look forward to continuing our important work and supporting MCW and its leaders as we march forward to additional successes as an essential and anchor institution in our region and beyond.”
Dr. Raymond and Dr. Kerschner at the installation of Dr. George MacKinnon (pictured left) as founding dean of the School of Pharmacy, April 2016.
“Dr. Kerschner has been a trusted thought leader and partner since I arrived at MCW in July 2010,” says John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, president and CEO. “He has brought an infectious enthusiasm, energy and work ethic to his many roles at MCW. He has helped to elevate MCW’s missions, support our people, enhance our visibility – throughout the state, country and globally – and enrich our partnerships across multiple venues and entities.”
Effective January 1, 2025, Deborah M. Costakos, MD ’98, MS, will serve as interim dean of the SOM, and Cheryl A. Maurana, PhD, as interim provost. Dr. Costakos, who joined MCW in 2009, is chair and professor of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences – a position she has held since January 2020. Dr. Maurana, who joined MCW in 1995, is the Stephen and Shelagh Roell Endowed Chair, senior vice president for strategic academic partnerships, professor of bioethics and medical humanities, and founding director of the Kern National Network for Flourishing in Medicine.
A national search for the permanent dean of the SOM will launch in early 2025. There will not be an active search for a provost at this time, pending the recommendations of a task force to evaluate the structure of MCW’s academic enterprise and chart a pathway to achieve the institution’s vision as a health sciences university.
The Spring 2022 issue of MCW Magazine (pages 12-13) included a Q&A with Dr. Kerschner as he reflected on his first decade of dean of the SOM as well as a timeline of institutional achievements during his tenure.
– Sara L. Wilkins