Chapman College
John E. Chapman, M.D.
"The Dean of Deans"
Dean, 1975-2001
Oversaw huge period of growth: (The Vanderbilt Hospital (1981), The Vanderbilt Clinic (1988), The Psychiatric Hospital at Vanderbilt (1985), Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital (1993), Eskind Biomedical Library (1994), MRB I (1989), MRB II (1994), Medical Center East (1990's)
While dean of the medical school, he conferred degrees on more than 3,000 Vanderbilt medical students, and, during his period as dean, grew the faculty by 789 faculty members. Dr. Chapman was part of the appointment process for every department chair appointed during his tenure, and oversaw the initiatives that led to the medical school being consistently ranked number one in the nation in terms of student satisfaction.
"John Chapman was truly a giant of American medical education," said Harry R. Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs. "He worked long and hard to earn his title of 'Dean of Deans.' He guided the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to the forefront of medical education programs in the nation. His dedication, compassion and devotion to students and medical education are both a credit to him and to Vanderbilt. He will long be remembered here as a caring and insightful man who, more than anything, cared about the quality of medical education that Vanderbilt offered its medical students."
He arrived at Vanderbilt in 1967 from the University of Kansas, and at Vanderbilt served as associate dean for Education; associate professor of Pharmacology; director of Continuing Medical Education; professor of Medical Administration; chair of the division of Medical Administration; and dean of the School of Medicine from 1975 until 2001. By the end of his tenure as dean, he was graduating medical students who were themselves the offspring of medical students he had graduated more than two decades before.
