Bishop Fellowship Program

The Bishop Fellowship Program was inaugurated in 2000 to honor the memory of Dr. F. Marian Bishop who was widely recognized as the mother of academic family medicine.  She was a founding member and former president of the STFM Foundation.  The Program is funded in part by the Bishop Charitable Trust.  For more information about Dr. Bishop click here.

This 1-year fellowship program identifies and develops qualified senior family medicine faculty to successfully assume positions of greater responsibility in academic medicine. The program includes the use of self-development, mentorships with current deans, and formal educational programs. This is the only formal career development program that prepares and provides capable family medicine educators with the skill set needed to successfully compete for high-level academic positions such as dean or vice president of academic affairs.

Need and Purpose

The Bishop Fellowship Program prepares senior academic family physicians and family medicine educators for careers in high-level administration such as dean or vice president of an academic health center. At a time when medical schools are most in need of leadership stability and continuity, tenure for dean positions is short (on average about 3 ½ years). This is scarcely enough time to understand the workings of an institution, much less to provide effective leadership. Further, there is no formal career ladder preparing others to move into these positions. This program is designed to attract qualified candidates to higher level administrative positions in academic medicine and prepare them to succeed in these important roles.

The Bishop Fellows also become American Council on Education (ACE) Leadership Fellows and participate in three ACE seminars conducted during August, January, and June. The ACE Fellows Program is the premier higher education leadership development program in the country. For over 30 years it has identified and prepared senior faculty and administrators to be high-level administrators or university and college presidents. The Bishop Fellows also attend the AAMC 5-day Executive Development Seminar in order to advance their academic medical center leadership and managerial capacities.

Components

The 1-year program consists of nine components that address the essential skills and knowledge.

1. Formal Education
   Three ACE seminars, each lasting 1 week
   One 5-day AAMC Executive Development Seminar
2. Readings & Preparation between Seminars
   Fellows complete assigned readings and “homework” tasks, such as completing leadership style instruments, and securing and entering into their institutions’ financial information.
3. Project
   Each Fellow identifies a project he/she is interested in and which will be of benefit to both the host and home school.
4. The Fellow’s Learning Plan
   Fellows, along with their nominating institution, design an individualized learning plan to address unique needs.
5. The Off-campus Learning Experience
   Each Fellow spends at least three weeks with a dean or other high-level administrator at a host institution. As they are mentored by a team of experienced administrators, Fellows observe how other institutions and their leaders problem solve and handle change.
6. The National Institutional Network
   Fellows develop colleagues from within the Bishop and the ACE programs’ mentors and speakers that will serve them well throughout their careers.
7. National Policy Forums
   Because effective local leadership depends on knowledge of both national and international environments, Fellows are required to attend national meetings, particularly the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Council on Education seminars, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and American Council on Education annual meetings.
8. Other Visits
   Fellows are encouraged to visit other campuses to enhance their learning about a particular strategic issue as well as broaden their perspectives generally.
9. Home Plan
   Each Fellow and home dean develop a plan for how the Fellow’s skills will be used at the home institution. It is important that the Fellow have the opportunity to use the newly acquired skills as soon as possible.

What Are the Program Costs?

The Nominating Institution

• Pays the salary and benefits during the Fellowship year
• Assures that the Fellows will have time to complete readings and homework tasks and to attend seminars, national meetings, and off-campus visits

The Bishop Fellowship pays for:

• ACE Seminars and AAMC Executive Development Conference tuition, travel, housing, and food
• Registration, travel, housing and food at annual meetings of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Council on Education, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
• Travel for three week-long visits and food and housing at the host medical school

What Are the Deadlines?

• Completed nominations and candidate application materials are due on or before September 14, 2008.
• Finalists will be selected and notified by mid-October, 2008.
• Fellows identify and confirm host dean, identify project, and develop year’s learning plan by August 15, 2009.
• The program begins August 15, 2009 and ends the following August 14, 2010.

Review the Bishop Fellowship program timeline:

      Fellows Timeline

Download the Bishop Fellowship Program Application Forms (3 parts):

1. Bishop Fellowship Program Application Form (Part I)
2. Bishop Fellowship Program Dean/CEO Nomination Form (Part II)
3. Bishop Fellowship Program Reference Form (Part III)

For further information, please contact:

Robert Graham , MD, Fellowship Executive Director, or Stacy Brungardt, STFM Foundation Executive Director
STFM Foundation
11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Ste. 540
Leawood, KS 66211
Phone: 913-906-6000; Fax: 913-906-6096
email address: grahamj3@fammed.uc.edu or sbrungardt@stfm.org.

 Bishop Fellows

2008-2009
Joseph Hobbs, MD
Medical College of Georgia

William J. Hueston, MD
Medical University of South Carolina

Jeffrey L. Susman, MD
University of Cincinnati

2007–2008
Mark Penn, MD, MBA
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Joshua Freeman, MD
University of Kansas

Charles Henley, DO, MPH, MS
University of Oklahoma–Tulsa

2006–2007
Carlos Moreno, MD, MSPH
University of Texas HSC at Houston

2005–2006
William Wadland, MD, MS
Michigan State University

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD
University of Michigan

2004–2005
Marjorie Bowman, MD, MPA
University of Pennsylvania

Elizabeth Burns, MD, MA
University of North Dakota

2003–2004
Byron Crouse, MD
University of Wisconsin

John Saultz, MD
Oregon Health and Science University

2002–2003
Lars Larsen, MD          
East Carolina University

David Swee, MD
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

2001–2002
Klea Bertakis, MD, MPH
University of California-Davis

Richard Clover, MD
University of Louisville

James Herman, MD, MSPH
Penn State University