SAMC is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig J. Lenz, DO, FAODME, as the academic dean for the proposed college of osteopathic medicine in Dothan. Dr. Lenz begins his duties in mid-September which will include managing the college accreditation process, hiring administration and clinical faculty as well as finalizing the construction plans.  

 “We conducted a national search and found in Dr. Lenz the experience, enthusiasm and vision to oversee a 21st century college of medicine. His leadership and innovative ideas will attract the brightest faculty and medical students to this college,” said Ronald S. Owen, SAMC Chief Executive Officer.

Currently, Dr. Lenz is Senior Associate Dean at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tenn.  In addition to his academic responsibilities, he provided coverage in the emergency department at Hancock County Hospital in Sneedville, Tenn. His continuous clinical experience during the past 30 years in medical education also includes family practice and emergency medicine in Maine, California, and Tennessee.

Dr. Lenz received his D.O. degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received a B.S.E. in aerospace engineering from Princeton University and attended the University of Pennsylvania’s master’s degree program in counseling psychology. In 1989 he was conferred as a Fellow in the Collegium of the Academy Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators (FAODME).

Previously, he has served as Dean at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific at Western University, and chairman of the University of New England Dean’s Council to the Osteopathic College.  In three different family practice residency training programs, he has served as the Director of Medical Education and Family Practice Residency Director. At the University of New England College of Osteopathic medicine, he founded and directed the medical school’s Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program from 1987 to 1999. Under his leadership, the AHEC placed medical students in medically under served areas in Maine as an integral part of the medical school’s curriculum.

Dr. Lenz holds board certification from the American Board of Osteopathic Family Practitioners (ABOFP) and the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM/ABMS). Additionally, he was a member of the Commission for Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and has been on the Board of Directors for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) for the last nine years.  Dr. Lenz travels throughout the country serving as a team leader and inspector for the American Osteopathic Association’s Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institutes.  He also chairs accreditation visits to osteopathic colleges for AOA’s Commission of Osteopathic Colleges Association (COCA).

This past year Dr. Lenz was recognized by his academic colleagues and the Dean with a promotion to Full Professor of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. His areas of academic expertise include medical errors and patient safety, case-based ethical dilemmas in the emergency department, domestic violence, professionalism in medical education and the cognitive theory of differential diagnosis.  His academic research has been in content neutral critical thinking in first year medical students.

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