University of Missouri School of Medicine Dean Patrick Delafontaine, MD, revealed plans to step down from his post at the end of the month in a letter to students, faculty and staff March 15, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.
Dr. Delafontaine said he will step down from the Columbia-based medical school March 31 to become executive dean at New Orleans-based Tulane University School of Medicine.
"The school is on an upward trajectory across its three main missions and I shall be cheering you on as you continue to take our school to new heights. The many accomplishments of the school would not have been possible without your dedication and hard work and I am immensely grateful for your efforts and the support you have shown me during my tenure," he wrote in the letter, obtained by the publication.
Dr. Delafontaine's four-year tenure as head of the medical school saw its fair share of controversy. He resigned after less than a year at the helm in 2015, but was reinstated as dean in February 2016, according to the report.
University officials appointed Steven Zweig, MD, interim dean. Dr. Zweig joined the medical school's family and community medicine faculty in 1984.
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