In the 1990s when I was in medical school, I had dreams of a college of public health... In just 20 years it has gone so far and done so much. It has become nationally recognized for its efforts to improve the health of people in Arizona, the Southwest and the nation.
Dr. James E. Dalen, MD, MPH, retired from the University of Arizona in 2001 after serving as Dean of the College of Medicine for thirteen years and as Vice President for Health Sciences for seven years. During his tenure as Dean and Vice President, the College of Public Health, The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the Arizona Telemedicine Program were established. Successful fund raising led to the establishment of new research facilities including the Children’s Research Center, The Sarver Heart Center, The Arizona Arthritis Center and a major expansion of the Arizona Cancer Center.
Currently he is Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Public Health, and teaches in the colleges of Medicine and Public Health. In addition, he is Executive Director of the Weil Foundation which supports education in Integrative Medicine.
From 1988 until 2004 he was Editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Dalen established and served as Co-Chairman for the ACCP Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy, which has resulted in the publication of eight CHEST Supplements since 1986. He is the author or co-author of more than 350 publications in medical literature as well as eleven books and monographs.
He has served as President of the American College of Chest Physicians, President of the New England Cardiovascular Society, and Governor of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians.
He has received many teaching awards. In 1987 he received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the University of Massachusetts. In 1988 he was named the University of Washington Distinguished Medical Alumnus of the Year and received the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington State University. In 2000 he received the College Medal from the American College of Chest Physicians and was named a Master Fellow of the college. In 2010 he was awarded the Harvard School of Public Health’s highest honor for its alumni: the 2010 Alumni Award of Merit. In 2012 he was named a Master Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Massachusetts in 2013. He most recently received the 2015 Bravewell Distinguished Service Award from the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health for his role as one of the founders of the Consortium and as one of the founders of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.
