David Chelmow named interim dean at VCU School of Medicine

Chelmow has served as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the VCU School of Medicine since 2010.

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David P. Chelmow, M.D., has been appointed interim dean at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and interim executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health, effective Jan. 3.

Photo of man in lab coat and bow tie.
David Chelmow, M.D., will assume the interim role of dean at the VCU School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health starting Jan. 3, 2022.

Chelmow has served as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the VCU School of Medicine since 2010. He also is the Leo J. Dunn Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a professor in the department’s Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology and a provider in women’s health and obstetrics and gynecology at VCU Health.

Peter F. Buckley, M.D., is leaving his posts as dean of the VCU School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs for VCU Health, effective Feb. 4, to become chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

Chelmow currently serves as president of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, is immediate past president of the Council of University Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology and was the first president of the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology. Additionally, he is a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Review Committee for Obstetrics and Gynecology and serves on the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative’s Multidisciplinary Steering Committee as its chair and on the initiative’s advisory panel as a member. He recently completed his term on the board of directors for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and served as the Council of University Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology representative to the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Prior to joining VCU in 2010, Chelmow was on the faculty for 18 years at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he was vice chair for research and education, Institutional Review Board chair, residency program director and division chief for general OB/GYN. He earned his medical degree from Yale University and completed his OB/GYN residency at University of California San Francisco.

A nationwide search for a new dean of the VCU School of Medicine will begin in 2022. For more details about additional leadership appointments at the School of Medicine, visit the VCU School of Medicine website.

Amber Logan at the VCU School of Medicine contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Chelmow's title with VCU Health. This story has been updated to reflect his title as interim executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health.