DoD announced today that Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has appointed Dr. Ronald Blanck, Dr. Haile Debas, Dr. Michael Johns, Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu and Dr. Gail Wilensky to serve as members of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Board of Regents. 

 

            “The new members of the board have significant and varied experience in academic medicine, government and public service, and they will play critical roles in guiding the university and the department in the next era of military and public health medicine,” said S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. “Their advice to the university will be especially critical as the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is stood up on the Bethesda campus and as USU plays an increasingly important role in academic medicine and biomedical research as each relates to the needs and aspirations of the uniformed services.”

 

            USU is the nation’s federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. The university educates health care professionals dedicated to career service in the Department of Defense and the U.S. Public Health Service.  Students are active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service, who are being educated to deal with wartime casualties, national disasters, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies.

 

            Departing from the board are, Everett Alvarez Jr. and Linda Stierle. They were a key force in shaping the university and in establishing a Graduate School of Nursing.