Frederick Morin, M.D., announced today that next year, he will step down as dean of The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont once a successor has been named. Morin became the College’s 17th dean ten years ago, on August 25, 2007. 

 “Rick Morin’s accomplishments at UVM are truly extraordinary,” said UVM President Tom Sullivan. “His creativity, persistence, and strong leadership have created a legacy for the Larner College of Medicine that will last for generations. I will be forever grateful for his remarkable leadership of the College and his many contributions across the University.”

Among Morin’s many achievements over the past decade are his work in philanthropy, which resulted in an unprecedented commitment of $100 million in lifetime giving from late alumnus Robert Larner, M.D.’42 and his wife Helen, and related naming of the College in Dr. Larner’s honor. Morin’s service on the board of trustees of the UVM Medical Center, the board of the UVM Health Network, and the board of the UVM Health Network - Medical Group (the faculty practice plan) has strengthened ties with the College’s primary clinical teaching partner and facilitated expanded educational opportunities for our students across the region.  

“I want to thank Dean Morin for his leadership in our shared goal of educating health care professionals to the highest standards in patient care, education and research,” said John Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO of the UVM Health Network and CEO of the UVM Medical Center.  “He has been an important and steadfast source of support throughout a period of enormous change in health care, and we will miss having the benefit of his guidance.”

Morin also played a critical role in helping the College develop new clinical training sites to ensure medical students have exposure to greater diversity of patients, and most recently the College has been recognized nationally for its active learning initiatives. In addition, Morin oversaw growth in the College’s research enterprise from $65.9 million to $90 million between 2007 and 2016, and facilitated the revitalization of several College buildings, laboratories and medical education spaces, including the Larner Learning Commons, which opened in 2017. 

Nationally, Morin has played an active role in the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Council of Deans and has been an invited speaker to present on medical education and the training of primary care physicians, including a presentation to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Council on Graduate Medical Education. 

“I am proud of what this College has accomplished in the last ten years, across all of our missions,” said Morin. “It has been an honor to serve as Dean, and the capstone of my career.” 

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Yale University School of Medicine, Morin began his career as a pediatrics resident at Stanford University and completed a research fellowship in neonatology at University of California San Francisco. Prior to joining UVM, he served on the faculty of the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and subsequently the University at Buffalo, where he rose to full professor and vice chairman of research. He was named chair of pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief at Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, and also served as interim vice president for health affairs at University at Buffalo and interim dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Information regarding the establishment of a committee for a national search for Morin’s successor is expected in the near future.