The Texas A&M Health Science Center announced Friday that Dr. Ruth L. Bush and Dr. Wei-Jung Chen have been named interim vice dean and acting associate dean of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.
The two positions were filled upon Dr. Paul Ogden’s appointment as the HSC College of Medicine’s
interim dean.
Ogden, the former vice dean of Academic Affairs and Class of 1979, said he’s anxious to fill the roll as dean of the college. Ogden was a member of the Texas A&M College of Medicine charter class, graduating with his medical degree with honors in 1981.
“As a former student of Texas A&M and a graduate of the Texas A&M College of Medicine, I am honored to assume the role of interim dean at this critical time in the college’s history and in the practice of medicine,” Ogden said. “I look forward to personally welcoming our next class of 200 medical students in the fall as we prepare them to deliver care in an ever-
evolving industry.”
Ogden replaced outgoing dean Dr. T. Samuel Shomaker, who is now a special assistant to the interim president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. Ogden said the new appointments of Bush and Chen would continue to serve the faculty, staff and students in the College of Medicine.
“Ruth Bush and Wei-Jung Chen bring a wealth of knowledge both in academic medicine and the inner workings of the College of Medicine,” Ogden said. “Our faculty, staff and students continue to be well served through the experienced leadership Drs. Bush and Chen are providing in their respective new roles.”
Bush served as the chief of vascular surgery at the Olin E. Teague VA Medical Center in Temple from 2008 to June 2013. She also served as associate dean for Academic Affairs in Round Rock, as well as serving in various positions at A&M since 2011.
Chen was a professor in neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Temple campus, where he also served as assistant dean for Student Affairs, and has been working with the Texas A&M College of Medicine for nearly 13 years. Chen’s primary research interests are in fetal alcohol syndrome and the effects of substance abuse on brain development.