Dr. Joseph Fantone named senior associate dean for educational affairs

Dr. Joseph C. Fantone

The University of Florida College of Medicine has appointed Dr. Joseph C. Fantone as its next senior associate dean for educational affairs, effective June 1. The appointment, announced by Dean Michael Good, M.D., follows an extensive national search and interview process.

“Because of the outstanding quality of our medical school, we are able to attract another national leader to the University of Florida,” said Good.

Building on early career achievements as a physician-scientist and clinical investigator funded by the National Institutes of Health, Fantone has emerged as a national leader in medical education. He brings to UF extensive experience in both undergraduate and graduate medical education within a large academic medical center.

Fantone has served as associate dean for medical education at the University of Michigan (UM) School of Medicine since 1998, where he recently led a successful medical school reaccreditation process while simultaneously implementing a new medical education curriculum. Previously, he led a team of faculty and administrators that developed a funding model based on allocation of medical student tuition to support faculty teaching efforts within the UM medical school.

“The search committee was very impressed with Dr. Fantone’s accomplishments and excited about his vision for medical education,” said Dr. Timothy Flynn, senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the UF College of Medicine and chair of the search committee.

In addition to his role as associate dean for medical education at UM, Fantone has served as pathology residency program director for more than 18 years and has been closely involved in the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies, including serving on the ACGME Pathology Residency Review Committee. He continues to consult for the National Board of Medical Examiners on the United States Medical Licensing Examinations.

Fantone will work closely with UF College of Medicine education faculty, staff, students and college leaders to enhance learning at all educational levels for all student groups within the college. His vision for medical education incorporates evidence-based adult-learning principles that focus on learners’ personal and professional development along the continuum of their medical careers.

“I look forward to joining the creative and committed team of medical educators at UF, and working together to expand the comprehensive learning experience at the College of Medicine,” Fantone said.

After receiving both bachelor and master of science degrees in chemical engineering from Tufts University, Fantone earned his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1977. He completed a residency in anatomic pathology at the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, and then returned to the University of Connecticut for a postdoctoral fellowship in immunopathology.

Fantone joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1980 and advanced through the ranks to become a professor of pathology in 1991. He has received many awards and honors, including the National Board of Medical Examiners Edithe J. Levit Distinguished Service Award in 2008 and the American Medical Women’s Association Gender Equity Award at the University of Michigan Medical School in 2000. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.