Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

We are delighted to announce that we have selected Dr. King Li of Wake Forest University to be the inaugural dean and chief academic officer of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Li’s tenure will begin October 1, pending his departure from Wake Forest and approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Dr. Li is currently the senior associate dean for clinical and translational research at Wake Forest School of Medicine and the deputy director of that university’s comprehensive cancer center.

Dr. Li, who holds M.D. and MBA degrees, is a renowned researcher, educator, inventor and clinician in molecular imaging and radiology. He holds 16 patents, with another six pending, and is the Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar at Wake Forest, established for the recruitment of faculty whose research shows promise for generating significant intellectual property and commercialization.

He has a deep knowledge of all facets of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine concept, particularly its engineering-based foundation and public-private structure, and he is a highly regarded scholar who commands respect in his discipline and in the medical profession. Equally important, he is excited about engaging faculty, disciplines and colleges across the campus as well as physician colleagues in the Carle system and beyond to successfully lead this new college.

Dr. Li’s experience includes research, clinical, educational and entrepreneurial roles at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and Stanford University, as well as Wake Forest and Houston Methodist Hospital. He earned a medical degree from University of Toronto and an MBA from San Jose State University.

We were fortunate to consider the applications of a number of outstanding candidates nationally and beyond, and the committee chose Dr. Li because he possesses the academic, clinical and technical skills – along with the personal attributes – to lead the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and to galvanize public support.

As we create the first new college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 60 years, we have tremendous confidence in Dr. Li as its founding dean. He brings to the role a superb combination of scholarly accomplishment, administrative experience and diverse experience at outstanding research and health sciences institutions. We look forward to working with him as he leads the highly innovative Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Best wishes,

Edward Feser
Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, Illinois

Dr. Matthew Gibb
Chief Medical Officer, Carle Health System