Regents Approve Professor Emeritus Appointment to Distinguished Medical School Faculty Member

Today, the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents conferred David Steele, Ph.D., Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC EP) senior associate dean for Medical Education and Office of Curriculum, Evaluation, and Accreditation, with the honorary title of professor emeritus for his very distinguished service to the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine (PLFSOM) at the time of his retirement on Aug. 31.

The legacy of customizing the innovative and effective PLFSOM curriculum, and steering the only medical school on the U.S./Mexico border through the massive task of successfully attaining preliminary, provisional and final full Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) status in February 2013, belongs to Steele.

"Dr. Steele was the key to having the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine achieve LCME accreditation,” said TTUHSC EP President Richard Lange, M.D. “His interaction with the accrediting body is the reason that the secretariat of LCME hold TTUHSC EP as the model for curricular innovation in designing new medical schools.  We are deeply indebted to Dr. Steele for his devotion and leadership in meeting our educational mission.”

Appointment as professor emeritus honors Steele’s exemplary years of service and longstanding contributions, and will enable the PLFSOM to retain his services as a valued advisor to students, residents, faculty and administrators.  The value of emeritus appointment is invaluable for the future growth of TTUHSC EP.

After joining the PLFSOM faculty in 2007, apart from his duties as senior associate dean for Medical Education and the Office of Curriculum, Evaluation and Accreditation, Steele also chaired the LCME Accreditation Task Force. Prior to arriving in El Paso, Steele was the assistant dean for curriculum and evaluation at Florida State University College of Medicine.

He received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in sociocultural anthropology, and during his vast career, he has received various honors, including the National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Mental Health.  Steele has also written and edited numerous articles, contributed to various books and presented throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.