Founding Provost. Visionary. Illuminator.

It is with deep sadness that I must share with you the passing of Dr. Stanley W. Olson on February 13, 2016.

Dr. Olson was instrumental to NEOMED (formerly NEOUCOM), as our first provost, and an ongoing mentor and leader who continued to share his knowledge and advice up until his passing at the age of 102.

Dr. Olson was first called upon by the Northeastern Medical Education Development Center of Ohio, Inc. (MEDCO) in 1972 to develop a plan for expanding medical education opportunities in northeastern Ohio that could address the need for primary care physicians. Along with a group of experts in medical education, Dr. Olson prepared a document titled “The MEDCO Plan for Medical Education – 1973.”

MEDCO, formed by multiple constituents including a consortium of the University of Akron, Kent State University and Youngstown University, then incorporated to establish a medical school, and in August 1973, established Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) to meet a critical need for primary care physicians in Northeast Ohio.

The Board of Trustees of NEOUCOM was officially installed Nov. 26, 1973, and invited Stanley W. Olson, M.D., to become chief executive officer, charter provost of the College.

From selecting Rootstown in 1974 as the home of NEOUCOM and gaining provisional accreditation for the College of Medicine in 1977, to matriculating our charter class members in 1977 and establishing the NEOMED Foundation in 1978, Dr. Olson played a major role in every single monumental event rooted in the history of our premier health sciences university.

As a result of Dr. Olson’s forward thinking and vision, the original mission that he developed and fostered through his tenure, continues today. Dr. Olson retired on his 65th birthday in February 1979 but remained a leader and emeritus president.

Dr. Stanley W. Olson was born February 10, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois. He married Lorraine C. Lofdahl on June 26, 1936. A graduate from Wheaton College in 1934, he received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1938.

After serving several years on the medical staff of the Mayo Clinic and as Assistant Director of the Mayo Foundation for Education and Research, Dr. Olson served as Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine.  In 1953, he became Dean of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, a post he held for 14 years. From 1966 to 1972, he held positions at Vanderbilt University, the US Public Health Service in Washington, DC, and the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education in San Antonio, Texas, before becoming the charter provost of NEOUCOM. And, as if his storied career was not enough upon retirement, in 1983, Dr. Olson was recruited by Dr. Louis Sullivan to become the first dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine, a position he held for close to two years.

Dr. Olson is survived by his daughter, Patricia (James) Prochaska; sons, Richard (Mary) and Robert Olson; nine grandchildren; and eleven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by Lorraine, his wife of 70 years.

Eighty years of service and helping others fulfill their dreams is simply remarkable. And when one thinks of the thousands of lives impacted by those he served, taught and mentored, his contributions to the health sciences create a legacy for which we all are fortunate to have been associated.

Sincerely,

Jay Gershen