Contact: Mary Margaret Colliver

Jay A. Perman, M.D.

“Among all the candidates that we reviewed and interviewed, Dr. Perman was the unanimous choice of our faculty. He rounds out the management team at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. He has the desire, drive and ability to move the Medical Center into the nation’s top-20 public institutions, fulfilling our commitment to the Senate Bill #1.”

-- Lee T. Todd Jr., Ph.D.,
president,
University of Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 3, 2004) -- Jay A. Perman, M.D., currently professor and chairman, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been named dean of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the university’s vice president for clinical and academic affairs.

The appointment, subject to approval by the UK Board of Trustees, was made by UK Provost Michael T. Nietzel, Ph.D., and UK Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Michael Karpf, M.D. Perman’s appointment is effective no later than May 1, 2004.

“Among all the candidates that we reviewed and interviewed, Dr. Perman was the unanimous choice of our faculty,” said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., Ph.D. “He rounds out the management team at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. He has the desire, drive and ability to move the Medical Center into the nation’s top-20 public institutions, fulfilling our commitment to the Senate Bill #1.”

Perman will report to the UK Provost and UK Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. As dean, Perman will be responsible for the leadership and professional management of the research, educational, clinical and administrative activities, as well as the 21 academic departments and 12 centers of the College of Medicine.

“Jay Perman has an outstanding record of achievements as a scientific investigator and a leader in medical education,” said Nietzel. “He is very highly regarded by our faculty, and I am extremely pleased that he will be joining the UK leadership team.”

Perman will direct the recruitment of faculty, secure and allocate necessary resources to implement the College of Medicine’s agenda, strengthen the relationships and quality of clinical affiliations, encourage collaborative relationships with other colleges of the university, and promote valuable interactions with alumni, the health care community, and the public. The College of Medicine has over 700 faculty, 1,800 staff members, 600 medical and graduate students, and over 500 residents and fellows.

“In addition to being an accomplished investigator and an advocate for both undergraduate and graduate medical education, he is a consummate clinician who still practices pediatric gastroenterology,” said Karpf. “He also is a seasoned administrator and a respected leader who can help focus the faculty on achieving excellence in all three of their mandates – research, education and clinical care.”

“I am honored to have been selected to be a dean at the University of Kentucky,” said Perman. “Although a young medical school and academic health center, the UK College of Medicine has a national reputation for the excellence of its curriculum and training programs. The research effort is impressive and growing. We are committed to building and maintaining clinical programs and research to a standard of excellence that will assure the people of Kentucky access to the most innovative, cutting edge care available. Kentuckians deserve no less.”

Perman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968 from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and a Doctor of Medicine degree with Distinction in 1972 from Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill. Following completion of his residency in pediatrics at Northwestern University Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago in 1975, he completed a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School and at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, Mass., in 1977.

From 1977 to 1984, Perman served as assistant professor and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. While at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1984 to 1996, he served as professor of pediatrics, director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology/nutrition, vice chairman for clinical affairs in the Department of Pediatrics, and director of the Division of Network Development and Community Services.

From 1996 to 1999, Perman served as the Jessie Ball duPont Professor and Chairman in the Department of Pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He also served as medical director of the Children’s Medical Center at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals.

In 1999, he was recruited to the University of Maryland School of Medicine where he has served in his current capacity as chairman of pediatrics and as chief of pediatrics for the University of Maryland Medical System.

Perman has received many honors and awards, including being listed in The Best Doctors in America and Who’s Who in America. He has published extensively, served on editorial boards, and has reviewed for numerous journals. In addition, he has been involved in a wide range of civic and professional organizations at the state and national levels.

Perman is married to Andrea Perman, a research nurse, and has four children.

He replaces Emery A. Wilson, M.D., who served as dean of the UK College of Medicine and UK associate vice president for clinical services from 1987 to 2004.