FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 26, 2017
OKLAHOMA CITY – Long-term Chief of Surgery at the OU College of Medicine Russell G. Postier, M.D., has been named interim executive dean of the OU College of Medicine, succeeding M. Dewayne Andrews, M.D., whose retirement takes effect next week. OU President David L. Boren made the announcement today at the January meeting of the OU Board of Regents.
Postier enjoys a strong national reputation and has served as chair of the American Board of Surgery – a position that is only awarded to exemplary academic surgeons who demonstrate outstanding commitment to teaching and academic leadership.
“I appreciate the willingness of Dr. Postier to serve as interim dean,” Boren said. “He is one of the most respected physicians at the College of Medicine and has a well-deserved national reputation for excellence. He will make sure that the forward progress of the College of Medicine is maintained. Like Dean Andrews, he is personally dedicated and committed to the College and to the medical profession.”
Postier joined the OU Health Sciences Center faculty in 1981 and was appointed John A. Schilling Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery at the College of Medicine in 1997. His surgical expertise includes gastrointestinal surgery with special interest in the biliary tract and pancreas.
Throughout his career, he has excelled as a teacher and mentor, and in 2002 he received the Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award. He has served on several committees that focus on the educational development of medical students, residents and scientists. In 2010, he was named a David Ross Boyd Professor at OU – a lifetime title that provides continuing recognition to faculty members with superior teaching ability, demonstrated leadership and a talent for student guidance.
Postier is active in many professional organizations, holding numerous leadership roles. He completed a six-year term as governor of the Oklahoma chapter of the American College of Surgeons. In 2010, Postier was appointed treasurer of the American Surgical Association and served in that position until 2015.
His ability to foster an environment of academic development is evident from his multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as his numerous research projects.
Postier’s research efforts in the clinical arena have involved the search for improved therapeutics in a range of surgical diseases, primarily pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In the past several years, he has secured more than $9.5 million in research funding.
Postier earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 from Oklahoma State University and his M.D. in 1975 from OU. He began his training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1975 and completed his surgical training in 1980. From 1980 to 1981, he was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Hospital before returning to Oklahoma.
