Honoring Dr. Moy

Richard H. Moy, Chair in Medical Education

Richard H. Moy, MD, earned both his bachelor’s and medical degrees at the University of Chicago, where he also interned at the University Clinics. After service at the National Cancer Institute, he returned to finish his residency in internal medicine, subsequently serving as chief resident and a U.S. Public Health Service Fellow. By 1969 he had risen to the rank of Associate Professor in Medicine at the University of Chicago and held several administrative assignments.

Dr. Moy was appointed Professor of Internal Medicine and founding Dean of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in January of 1970 and was, at the time, the country’s youngest dean. He continued to serve as Dean and Provost (an additional responsibility added in 1974) for more than 23 years until his retirement in the fall of 1993, which made him the senior ranking dean among the 126 U.S. medical schools.

His community, state and national positions of leadership are numerous. Some of his national activities in medical education included many with the Association of American Medical Colleges, where he served on the Administrative Board of the Council of Deans and the Executive Council of the association, as well as a number of task forces. He served as the first chairman of the Composite Committee for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination and on the American Board of Medical Specialists.

Dr. Moy distinguished himself in many ways: as educator, administrator, civic leader, and humanitarian. The activity nearest to his heart continued to be the innovative and pace setting methods of training physicians at SIU School of Medicine. It became known as the international model for teaching methods and educational delivery systems for medical student training. Included in these are performance-based assessment and problem-based learning, both of which incorporate the use of persons trained to play the role of actual patients. Medical education throughout the United States has advanced because of Dr. Moy’s contribution to use such innovative methods.

It is with this medical education heritage begun by Dr. Moy’s long tenure as Dean and Provost at the SIU School of Medicine, that an endowed Chair in Medical Education seems a fitting honor. We feel this immortalizes this very important position of chair in Medical Education and associates the name of one of the foremost medical educators with one of the finest training programs.

It is a pleasure to name The Richard H. Moy, MD, Chair in Medical Education to honor and memorialize his noteworthy career of distinguished service to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and to the careers of more than 1,000 physicians trained during his tenure as Dean and Provost.

Making your gift

To make a gift in memory of Dr. Moy, donations can be made to the SIU Foundation. Cash gifts, multi-year pledges and securities are some of the options. Click the Donate Now button to visit the online giving page, If you have questions or need more information, pleasecontact the Foundation at 217-545-2955.