Sharon L. Hostler, M.D., Interim Vice President and Dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and R. Edward Howell, Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Virginia Medical Center, have announced the appointment of Thomas G. Cropley, M.D., as Chair of the Department of Dermatology.
Dr. Cropley previously served as a Professor of Medicine in the University of Massachusetts Medical School and UMass Memorial Healthcare and director of the Dermatology Residency Program at UMMS.
“We are excited to have Dr. Cropley lead our busy and growing Department of Dermatology and look forward to his work in strengthening and expanding the residency program,” said Dr. Hostler.
Dr. Cropley, who becomes the fifth chair in the department’s 83-year history, received his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed his residency at Harvard Medical School, where he also served as a Chief Resident in Dermatology. After several years on the faculty at Harvard, Dr. Cropley joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1990.
“Dr. Cropley’s demonstrated success as an educator and a clinician will directly benefit our medical residents and the members of the communities we serve through excellent training and outstanding clinical care,” Howell noted.
Dr. Cropley’s clinical and research interests include complex multisymptom cutaneous disease, cutaneous manifestations of renal disease, contact dermatitis, occupational dermatology and the history of medicine. He is a deputy editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and is a member of numerous professional societies including The American Dermatologic Association, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States and the Society of Civil War Surgeons. In addition, Dr. Cropley is an accomplished player of the Great Highland Bagpipes.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to be appointed as the chair of the UVA Department of Dermatology. Virginia’s is the oldest department of dermatology in the South, and one of the oldest in the country,” Cropley said. “I look forward to continuing the famously high standard of patient care, teaching, and research that has been the hallmark of the department throughout its existence.” He also plans to develop or expand programs in pediatric dermatology, interdisciplinary melanoma and skin cancer care, and clinical research.
Cropley praised the outgoing chair of the department, Kenneth E. Greer, M.D., who is stepping down after 14 years as chairman, for his dedication to the program.
“Dr. Greer has served the University of Virginia, his patients, and his students with an outstanding combination of clinical expertise, scientific curiosity and educational excellence. We will continue his work and that of his predecessors and are lucky he will remain on our staff to continue educating future generations of dermatologists.”
