Darrell G. Kirch, MD is president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), a position he assumed on July 1, 2006. Founded in 1876, the AAMC is a Washington, D.C.-based, non-profit association representing all 125 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools, nearly 400 teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC also represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians.
A distinguished physician, educator, medical scientist, and noted authority on organization and management issues at academic medical centers, Kirch's career spans all aspects of academic medicine and includes leadership positions at two medical schools and teaching hospitals, as well as at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Before becoming the AAMC's fourth president, Kirch was selected to be chair-elect of the association, and served as the co-chair of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and as a member-at-large of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NMBE). He also has served as chair of the AAMC's Council of Deans Administrative Board and as chair of the American Medical Association's Section on Medical Schools.
Kirch came to the AAMC after six years as senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the college of medicine, and CEO of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at The Pennsylvania State University, where he and his leadership team are credited with revitalizing the institution and guiding it through a period of major expansion. During his tenure, the college of medicine engaged in a broad range of educational innovation and doubled its total research funding, while the medical center showed dramatic growth in clinical activity and exceptionally solid fiscal results. Before joining Penn State, Kirch held a number of leadership positions at the Medical College of Georgia from 1994 to 2000, including as dean of the medical school, senior vice president for clinical activities, and dean of the school of graduate studies.
In his work as a psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist, Kirch's contributions were focused on the biological basis of and treatments for severe neuropsychiatric disorders. Following the completion of his residency training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, he joined the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was named acting scientific director in 1993. During his tenure at the NIMH he received the Outstanding Service Medal of the United States Public Health Service.
Kirch is a native of Denver and received both his BA and MD degrees from the University of Colorado, which in 2002 recognized him with its Silver and Gold Award. During his career, he has held faculty positions at Penn State, the Medical College of Georgia, and George Washington University.
Kirch is an active member of several professional societies, and has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. A prolific writer and public speaker, he has published more than 100 articles and made over 130 presentations to national medical, scientific, and educational organizations.