Harvard Names Interim Dean of Medical School

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Harvard University is searching for a new dean of its medical school and today an interim head of the school was named.

Barbara J. McNeil, a current professor at the school, will assume the role of acting dean on Aug. 1, the University announced Tuesday.

McNeil has spent more than 30 years on the Medical School faculty in various research and advisory roles.

In a press release, University President Drew G. Faust and Provost Alan M. Garber lauded McNeil as “one of Harvard Medical School’s most able and experienced leaders, scholars, educators, and institutional citizens.”

The search for a new dean has been on since November 2015, when Jeffrey S. Flier announced that he would step down.

“I have known, admired, and worked with Barbara for many years, and she is a leader with a proven track record and a deep knowledge and appreciation of the HMS ecosystem,” Flier said in a press release. “The school will be in excellent hands.”