NEOMED Announces Two New Deans
ROOTSTOWN, Ohio – Northeast Ohio Medical University has named new deans of its College of Pharmacy and the College of Graduate Studies, the university has announced.
Dr. Richard J. Kasmer is the university’s new vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Steven P. Schmidt is the new vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
Kasmer and Schmidt were both in leadership positions at NEOMED when each became candidates for their new roles when their predecessors assumed similar positions at universities in Texas.
Kasmer has served more than ten years as a member of the NEOMED community. As a faculty member, he assisted in the development of new curricula, participated in accreditation activities and aided in the recruitment of new faculty members. As associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, he spent five years working towards improving operating efficiency while implementing new programs. In his most recent role as the college’s vice dean, Kasmer played a leadership role in admissions, strategic planning and developing relationships – both regionally with Ritzman Pharmacy and internationally with Anhui University in China. Kasmer is a former clinical pharmacist who served as vice president and director of clinical operations at Collaborative Clinical Research, Inc., in Cleveland. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Creighton University and served as a post-doctoral resident in ambulatory care at the VA Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Kasmer earned his Juris Doctor degree at Cleveland State University.
Schmidt served as a chairman of the NEOMED Board of Trustees and was a professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also served as the associate dean of research in the College of Pharmacy at NEOMED where he helped in the development of the University’s fifth research focus area, Neurodegenerative Disease and Aging. Schmidt is a former vice president of clinical research and innovation at Summa Health in Akron. He directed the in vitro fertilization laboratory at Summa Akron City Hospital when the first test tube baby in Akron was born. He also investigated how to create natural cellular linings on artificial blood vessels. Schmidt received his Bachelor of Arts in Premedical Science and Master of Arts in Zoology from DePauw University. He earned his Ph.D. in Biology/Physiology from Idaho State University. Schmidt has been awarded five patents as a recipient of the American Heart Association Distinguished Researcher Award.
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