MSU health sciences officials today announced the recommendation of Aron Sousa, MD, to serve as dean of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. If approved by the MSU Board of Trustees, his appointment will begin April 22, 2022.
Sousa has served as interim dean for the college since November 2019, and prior to that, from June 2015 through September 2016. Dr. Sousa also has held the position of senior associate dean for academic affairs for 11 years.
“I am grateful that Dr. Sousa will continue to lead the college and most deeply thankful to all who helped us identify the best individual to serve as dean,” said Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS executive vice president for Health Sciences. “The College Advisory Council provided great guidance and input, and the search committee was tireless in seeking the top candidates from across the country.”
In his 17 years of leadership, Dr. Sousa’s contributions to medical education and MSU have been transformational. He led the creation of the college’s innovative Shared Discovery Curriculum and was responsible for the medical education programs at the college’s seven statewide community campuses. During that time, Dr. Sousa managed the nation’s largest medical school expansion, doubling the college’s class size and converting its two-year, 60-student Grand Rapids campus into a four-year, 350-student campus. He has been central to the development of the Grand Rapids Innovation Park and in the establishment of MSU’s partnership with Henry Ford Health in Detroit.
Dr. Sousa is known as a tireless advocate of student success. He has been intentional in expanding the commitment, resources and focus of the college in diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. Health disparities were prevalent before the pandemic, and Dr. Sousa has worked for years to address these issues to increase health care access and education across the state and on campus, by supporting a culture of caring.
“Dr. Sousa has led with kindness, transparency, integrity and a persistent emphasis on the success and well-being of students, faculty and staff,” said Beauchamp. “He truly embodies the values of an empathetic leader and has proven that in his service throughout the years. Many would agree he has shown a commitment to others that defines ‘servant leadership.’”
Research, discovery, and innovation at the college have also grown significantly. As the leader of the college’s $30 million expansion in Flint, Dr. Sousa was the principal investigator on the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation grants that led the college to establish the Division of Public Health and to center its community campus in downtown Flint. Most recently, and in parallel with his exceptional leadership during the pandemic, Dr. Sousa led an initiative that resulted in a $25 million grant from the Mott Foundation to expand the college’s public health program in Flint.
Dr. Sousa is a practicing general internist. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He then served as both a resident and chief resident in internal medicine and completed a primary care fellowship at Michigan State University.