With a new academic year on the horizon, it is with great excitement that we announce the appointment of Dr. Frances C. Purcell as provost of Trinity Medical Sciences University and dean of the school of medicine. Dr. Purcell comes to Trinity from the Medical College of Georgia, a college of Augusta University, where she served as Assistant Dean of Curriculum from 2015 to 2019.
“Her wealth of knowledge and many years of leadership in medical education is a perfect fit as we approach 2020 to lead our faculty and students into the next decade of medical education,” said Mr. Wilson, President of Trinity Medical Sciences University. “Our Chancellor, Dr. Douglas Skelton, has worked with Dr. Purcell for many years during his deanship at Mercer Medical School and the Department of Public Health in the State of Georgia. Her ability to meld into our education framework and her teaching skills were well known to us from our past relationships, so there was only one choice when it came to hiring our new provost and dean.”
Dr. Purcell comes to Trinity with over 30 years of medical experience, bringing with her a breadth of knowledge to lead our school to innovations in medical education that will continue to distinguish the quality of Trinity graduates. “As provost and dean, Dr. Purcell will provide a strategic vision and operational leadership for our schools of medicine and biomedical sciences,” said Chancellor Dr. Skelton. “Dr. Purcell is a skilled and experienced leader, the reason she was the first person I contacted in our search for a new provost and dean.”
Dr. Purcell’s dedication to healthcare and community service has had a large impact in communities around Georgia. While at the Medical College of Georgia, she spearheaded the nation’s first and only student-driven medical response disaster unit to help relieve communities seeking immediate medical attention after tragedy strikes. Other career highlights include working to end homelessness in Savannah, GA at Union Mission, Inc., where she served as president and CEO, serving as an assistant director for academic program development at Mercer University’s School of Medicine, and working as the assistant director of the Master of Public Health Program in the Department of Community Medicine. She was honored as a Top Ten Working Women of Savannah in 2011 by Assistant Working Women in Need (AWWIN), a non-profit organization assisting single working low income women and their children.
In addition to her work above, Dr. Purcell has facilitated and consulted on issues surrounding public health care for children and young adults, and she has served on the board of directors for numerous health associations and medical networks, including the Central Georgia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Georgia Public Health Association, and Magnolia Coastlands Area Health Education Network. Dr. Purcell’s arrival at Trinity has been warmly welcomed by our staff and students. She has been busy preparing for her new duties even before her official start date on August 8, 2019, and had this to say: “I am truly honored to serve as provost and dean, and I am excited to continue working to find solutions for the challenges facing medical education.”
Dr. Purcell and her husband Paul live in the Atlanta metro area with their three beloved pets – a dog who serves in the K9 Unit of the Medical Association of Georgia’s Medical Reserve Corps and two house cats who are currently unemployed. You can read more about Dr. Purcell and her complete biography on our faculty page. Welcome, Dr. Purcell!
