Press Release

March 13, 2006
Contact: Anna Farneski
Phone: 973-972-5000
farnesam@umdnj.edu

VLADECK RECOMMENDS PETER AMENTA INTERIM DEAN OF UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL

NEWARK—Interim President Dr. Bruce C. Vladeck today recommended Peter Amenta, M.D., Ph.D, interim dean of the University of Medicine and Dentistry-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Dr. Amenta would replace outgoing dean, Dr. Harold Paz, who has accepted the position of senior vice president of health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine, and chief executive officer of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State.

"I take great pleasure in recommending Dr. Amenta for the position of interim dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School," said Dr. Vladeck. "His commitment to excellence, on behalf of his patients and students, will ensure the school continues to fulfill its critical role in serving the people of New Jersey as a premier healthcare, research and educational facility. I was particularly impressed by the role he has played working with our clinical partners, an experience on which I'm sure Dr. Amenta will continue to build."

A member of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty since 1989, Dr. Amenta has been the residency program director and chief of the pathology service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital since 1994. He has also served as chair of the Performance Improvement Committee at the hospital for the past eight years, and as senior vice president of Medical Affairs and chief of staff since 2002.

"It has been an honor to work with Dr. Amenta for over a decade as he has successfully taken on increasing responsibility at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School," said Dean Paz. "The strength of an institution is measured by its succession planning; I am confident that he will be an outstanding leader for our school during this transition."

Dr. Amenta's nomination must be approved by the Board of Trustees. They are expected to consider it at a March 21 meeting.

Dr. Amenta has been the chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine since 1998, during which time the department has doubled in size, and has expanded its clinical, research and educational programs. In addition to RWJ University Hospital, the school’s primary teaching hospital, the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine has clinical oversight responsibilities at Bayshore Community Hospital, Southern Ocean County Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, while being responsible for the state HIV rapid testing program.

Dr. Amenta, 53, is also director of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey's Immunohistochemistry Shared Resource and a member of the Institute’s Scientific Council and Internal Advisory Board.

"I want to thank Dr. Vladeck for his confidence in me," said Dr. Amenta. " I look forward to the challenge and firmly believe that we have unprecedented opportunity to continue and further the remarkable growth experienced over the past decade."

Originally from Cromwell, Ct., Dr. Amenta now resides in West Windsor, with his wife Edna. The couple has two grown children. He received his bachelor's degree of science from Trinity College, and completed his pathology residency at Hahnemann University, where he received his medical degree and obtained a Ph.D. in anatomy.