BOCA RATON, FL (February 15, 2006) – Michael Friedland, M.D., senior associate dean for biomedical programs and professor of biomedical science at Florida Atlantic University, has been named vice president for medical education programs at FAU. In this new role, Friedland will represent FAU operations and management, as well as be responsible for the FAU components of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine program for the new regional medical campus.

Friedland previously took the lead in representing FAU in the development of a number of agreements, including an academic affiliation agreement, with the Miller School and Boca Raton Community Hospital.

“It’s exciting to be part of a transforming event in health care, research and education in one of the most dynamic places in the country,” said Friedland. “With the addition of Scripps to Palm Beach County, I believe we have the opportunity to become the preeminent academic health center in the southeast.”

In his role as regional dean for the Miller School of Medicine, Friedland will represent UM in the expansion of the current two-year medical education program to a full four-year program with associated new residencies, or graduate medical education. In addition he will collaborate with community health care facilities and practicing physicians to create new and needed clinical programs.

“The UM School of Medicine is very excited about the expansion of our medical education program at FAU,” said John G. Clarkson, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School of Medicine. “Dr. Friedland has the needed skills and experience to take on the challenges of this growing initiative.”

A board certified internist and hematologist, Friedland has held a variety of senior positions in healthcare services and administration, including dean of the SUNY-Upstate regional campus in Binghamton, N.Y., dean at both Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Schools of Medicine, and more recently, dean of the West Virginia University regional campus in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Friedland recently served as chair of the American Medical Association section on medical schools and currently serves as the AMA’s representative to the ambulatory component of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Friedland at 561-297-2219 or e-mail Michael.Friedland@fau.edu.

Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the university serves 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts eight colleges - the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering & Computer Science, and Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs.

Serving more than five million people as the only academic medical center in South Florida, the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine has earned international acclaim for research, clinical care and biomedical innovations. Founded in 1952 as Florida’s first accredited medical school, the University of Miami provides the medical staff for the nationally renowned University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. Each year the medical school’s 700 faculty physicians have more than a million patient encounters in primary care and more than 30 specialties.