Dr. Paul R.G. Cunningham appointed new dean at ECU medical school

Dr. Paul R.G. Cunningham, a former faculty member and administrator at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU, has been named dean of the medical school and senior associate vice chancellor for medical affairs.

For the past six years Cunningham has been the chair of the department of surgery at the

State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

Cunningham served at ECU for 21 years and will begin his new position on Sept. 15.

"Paul Cunningham is exactly the right choice to lead the Brody School of Medicine," said Chancellor Steve Ballard. "He is a highly accomplished, widely respected physician. He is familiar with the school's mission and with the health care challenges facing this region and state, and he is a former chief of staff of our teaching hospital."

Dr. Phyllis Horns, the interim vice chancellor for health sciences who has been serving as interim dean of the medical school, is also excited for Cunningham's arrival.

"I could not be more pleased to welcome Paul Cunningham as the fifth dean of the Brody School of Medicine," said Horns. "He is extraordinarily well-prepared for this leadership role and brings a wealth of experience that is needed for the school's future growth. His insights and partnership will be invaluable to the development of the Health Sciences Division at ECU at a time when the division's growth is unprecedented, including the addition of a new School of Dentistry."

Growth at the medical school, strong university leadership and the chance to further the medical school's mission - producing primary care doctors, educating minority and disadvantaged students and improving the health status of eastern North Carolina - are all reasons Cunningham is happy to return to Greenville.

"Based on all of the information that we received on each of our visits, and with the visible physical evidence of growth on the health campus, it is clear that there are exciting opportunities that will allow those stated missions to achieve their full evolution:

measurable positive statistics in the health indices for eastern North Carolina," said Cunningham.

Cunningham is a native of Jamaica and a medical graduate of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. After training, Cunningham began his career as a surgeon in New York and then made the move to North Carolina.

Cunningham was vice chief of the medical staff at Bertie Memorial Hospital and taught ECU medical students. Cunningham joined the ECU faculty full time in 1984 and became medical director of trauma the following year.

He also was interim director of the organ transplant division from 1990-1991 and chief of the medical staff at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 1991.

Cunningham rose to professor of surgery in 1993 and was chief of general surgery from 1999-2002. From 1990-1998, he also served as a major in the Army Reserve Medical Corps.

Dr. Walter Pories, a professor and former chair of surgery who recruited Cunningham to ECU in the 1980s, called Cunningham a role model, an excellent teacher and physician and a skillful leader.

"I think we're fortunate to have, first of all, someone who's a passionate, thoughtful and highly competent physician," said Pories. "He has the unusual capacity to pull segments together and unite. I'm just totally delighted. I can't think of anybody who is more fitting

in these times and the challenges that we face."

Cunningham is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a charter member and past president of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Cunningham has written or co-written 65 scholarly articles and contributed to other research publications and presentations. Throughout his career, he and colleagues have received more than $1.5 million in research funding, primarily in the areas of trauma prevention and treatment.

As dean, he said, goals will include expanding student enrollment, stabilizing the school's finances and increasing the diversity of the school's faculty and administration.

This writer may be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com