UF health science center executives elected to posts of national organization

Two University of Florida Health Science Center executives have accepted leadership positions with the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Rhona L. Williams, M.S., assistant vice president for health affairs communications, was elected chair of the Group on Institutional Advancement, and Timothy C. Flynn, M.D., the UF College of Medicine’s associate dean for graduate medical education, was named chair-elect of the Group on Resident Affairs, at the AAMC’s recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

As chair, Williams will lead the steering committee that manages the Group on Institutional Advancement, the professional development organization representing more than 1,000 professionals in alumni, development, marketing and public relations fields at medical schools and academic health centers. Through mentoring and education of its members, the group strives to build awareness and support for medical education, health care and biomedical research.

In addition to presiding over steering committee and general membership meetings, she will oversee the group’s budget, programs, projects and other activities.

Williams also serves on the National Communications Synergy Committee, a panel of senior institutional advancement officers advising the AAMC on its campaign to build public awareness of the importance of medical schools and academic health centers.

As chair-elect, Flynn will serve on the steering committee responsible for producing position papers and providing guidance to AAMC members. He also will help develop content for meetings of the Group on Resident Affairs.

The group is comprised of institutional officials, usually associate deans of graduate medical education, who are responsible for resident training in medical schools and teaching hospitals. Its members address graduate medical education issues at the operational and policy levels and give direction on how to run residency programs.

Flynn, who is vice president of medical affairs for Shands HealthCare and associate chairman of the UF department of surgery, also was appointed recently to the AAMC’s Advisory Panel on Health Care Delivery. The panel advises the AAMC on issues it may address in its role of representing academic medicine.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a nonprofit organization that comprises U.S. and Canadian medical schools, major teaching hospitals and health systems, academic and professional societies, medical students and residents.