Fletcher Allen, a Vermont university hospital and medical center, serves all of
Vermont and the northern New York region. Located in Burlington, Fletcher Allen is a regional, academic healthcare center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
Three New Trustees Join Fletcher Allen Board
Immediate (December 9, 2008)
Kim O'Leary
Marketing and Communications
802-847-2886
BURLINGTON, VT - The Fletcher Allen Board of Trustees accepted the appointments of three new trustees today - Geoffrey Shields, dean of Vermont Law School, Ruth Uphold, M.D., attending physician and former medical director of Fletcher Allen's Emergency Department, and Russell Tracy, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry and Senior Associate Dean of Research & Academic Affairs at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. These appointments were made at the annual meeting of the Fletcher Allen Board, held today in the McClure Lobby Conference Room on the Medical Center Campus in Burlington.
Geoffrey Shields of Tunbridge has been dean of Vermont Law School since August 2004, the seventh dean in the school's history. Prior to this appointment, Shields was a partner and past chair of the Management Committee of Gardner Carton and Douglas, a Chicago and Washington, DC based law firm, where he specialized in legal issues relating to not-for-profit institutions. He has held a variety of legal and advisory positions in the not-for-profit, hospital, education, investment banking, judicial and governmental sectors. Shields received his BA in economics from Harvard College and his law degree from Yale Law School.
"We are very pleased to have Jeff Shields join the Fletcher Allen Board," said Chris Dutton, chair of the Fletcher Allen Board of Trustees. "He brings a wealth of highly relevant expertise in the areas of hospital, higher education and complex transactional law that will be very helpful to us."
Ruth Uphold, M.D. of Charlotte is a clinical attending physician and former medical director of Fletcher Allen's Emergency department, where she been practicing for the past 27 years. She is also currently a professor of surgery at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, where she sits on the College's admissions committee. Dr. Uphold received her B.S. from the University of California at San Francisco and her M.D. from Tufts University in Boston. Prior to joining Fletcher Allen in 1981, Dr. Uphold worked in the Emergency department of hospitals in Maine and California. She is an active member of her community, serving on various boards and committees, including the United Way board.
"Dr. Ruth Uphold has been an invaluable clinical presence at Fletcher Allen for nearly 30 years. We are delighted that she will be bringing her expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to this new role on the Fletcher Allen Board," said Dutton.
Russell Tracy, Ph.D of Colchester is currently Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry and Senior Associate Dean for Research & Academic Affairs at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has published over 400 scientific publications, speaks frequently in major national and international venues, and is currently involved in a number of federally-funded molecular epidemiological studies in his areas of interest, cardiovascular disease and aging. Dr. Tracy is a member of many national and international societies, serves on several editorial boards, and reviews grants and contracts frequently for the National Institutes of Health. He received his doctorate from Syracuse University and did his post-doctoral training at the Mayo Clinic.
"We are greatly looking forward to Dr. Tracy's contributions to the Fletcher Allen Board," said Dutton. "He is greatly respected in the scientific and research communities and I know his expertise will serve us well as we continuously work to enhance the national standing of our academic medical center."
About Fletcher Allen
Fletcher Allen, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center. Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center -- providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York -- and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region. For more information about Fletcher Allen, visit our Web site at www.fletcherallen.org.
