Joseph M. Ernest III Named Associate Dean for Student Services

December 1, 2004

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Joseph M. “Mac” Ernest III, M.D., has been promoted to associate dean for student services at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, succeeding Patricia L. Adams, M.D., who is becoming chief of professional services for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Both changes are effective Jan. 1.

Ernest had been assistant dean.

"Dr. Mac Ernest is one of the most dedicated educators I have ever known,” said William Applegate, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “He is both a caring and charming teacher. Mac is deeply committed to supporting our students."

Ernest is also professor of obstetrics and gynecology-maternal and fetal medicine and had served as acting chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in fiscal 2003.

Ernest is a 1973 graduate of William Carey College in Mississippi and received his M.D. degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1978. He did his internship and residency at Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (now Carolinas Medical Center) before coming to Wake Forest Baptist for a fellowship in maternal and fetal medicine, which he completed in 1984.

The associate dean for student services is a post that roughly parallels the dean of the college in an undergraduate institution.

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Media Contacts: Robert Conn, rconn@wfubmc.edu, Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, or Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.

About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranked Wake Forest University School of Medicine 23rd in primary care, 40th in research and 12th in geriatrics training among the nation's medical schools. It ranks 36th in research funding by the National Institutes of Health. More than 100 medical school faculty are listed in Best Doctors in America.

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