Vice President and Chancellor Daryll DeWald announced this week that Founding Dean Dr. John Tomkowiak has stepped down from his role. We are deeply grateful for his leadership over the course of nearly 7 years as we built a medical school from the ground up.
Dr. Tomkowiak built the team responsible for educating physician health care professionals to serve those Washington communities in most need and guided the college to full accreditation as a community-based medical education program in 2021. He departs with the college achieving a full cohort of 320 students and successfully graduating its first two classes of MDs.
Additionally, Dr. Tomkowiak’s direction has led to two years of fiscal surpluses, the startup and incorporation of the college’s first internal medicine residency program in Everett, Washington, and the startup of the WSU Health Sciences faculty practice plan, the Range Community Clinic.
During his tenure, Dr. Tomkowiak oversaw the significant growth of the College of Medicine’s research enterprise, having been awarded over $100 million in new grants and contracts as well as starting the Department of Community and Behavior Health. He was instrumental in raising over $60 million for various college programs, benefiting rural and underserved communities across Washington for years to come.
“Dr. Tomkowiak is a passionate leader who embraces diversity, equity and inclusion, and strives to improve and advance educational programs that bring the next generation of outstanding health care professionals to communities across Washington,” said Daryll DeWald, vice president for WSU Health Sciences and chancellor for WSU Spokane. “We are grateful for Dr. Tomkowiak’s leadership as founding dean and are confident that the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is well positioned for continued success.”
The full WSU Insider statement can be found here.