Psychiatry News News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Michael J. Vergare, M.D., the Daniel Lieberman Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, has been appointed Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.  In this role, Dr. Vergare will serve as the central focal point for the academic, administrative and support functions of the university. The appointment is effective immediately.

As a senior officer, Dr. Vergare will report to Robert L. Barchi, M.D., Ph.D., President of Thomas Jefferson University.  He will lead the Academic Council, chair the University Administrative Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate and coordinate the various faculty affairs offices across the university.  He will also oversee the Clinical Skills Center at Jefferson and the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Education (JCIPE), as well as coordinate academic affiliations with regional institutions.  In addition to these duties, Dr. Vergare will assume responsibility for the university academic support functions, which include library services, Academic Information Services and Research (AISR), university admissions, financial aid, and the Registrar.

“Dr. Vergare’s medical and administrative credentials make him the ideal person for this integral position at Jefferson.  His years of clinical excellence and educational astuteness give him keen insight into how the university operates,” said Dr. Barchi.  “He will play a major role in guiding Jefferson’s commitment to integrating the education of students and residents into healthcare environments, which has been a passion of his for many years. I am delighted that he will remain a part of my senior leadership team.”

Dr. Vergare will retain his appointment as the Daniel Lieberman Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior.  Dr. Vergare is a leading expert in geriatric and administrative psychiatry and his many honors include the Presidential Medal of the American Psychiatric Association, the Judicare Medical Services Award, the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society's Edward Lawlor Award and the Daniel Blain Award.   In 2004, Dr. Vergare was awarded the Albert Einstein Society’s Physician Leadership award, a honor that recognizes physicians who demonstrate a commitment to innovation, compassion, research and philanthropy in healthcare.   He has been ranked by Philadelphia magazine as one of the top doctors in the region, and in 2007 he became the first psychiatrist to receive the Bell of Hope Award presented by the Mental Health Association of Southeast Pennsylvania.

His commitment to medical student and residency education is also evident in his numerous professional activities.  He served as a member of the educational advisory committee of Jefferson Medical College, chairman of the graduate medical education committee of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and completed a term as vice president of the hospital’s medical staff.  He also serves as a member of the residency Review Committee for Psychiatry for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and as a member of the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Dr. Vergare received a bachelor of arts degree in 1967 from LaSalle College and a doctor of medicine degree in 1971 from Hahnemann Medical College.  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Editor’s Note:  Dr. Vergare resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.