Noted Healthcare Leader Dr. John McConnell Serving as Vice Chair of Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees
Dr. John McConnell—a widely respected healthcare authority on a local, regional and national level—has been elected vice chair of the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees. Dr. McConnell has served on the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees since 2022 and began his term as vice chair in July 2023.
McConnell is Chief Executive Officer Emeritus, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Professor and Gordon Hanes Chair of Urology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine. McConnell joined Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the academic medical center of Wake Forest University, in November 2008 after being named the Medical Center’s first Chief Executive Officer. Previously, McConnell was an academic department chair and ultimately the Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
“Dr. McConnell has been a vital member of our healthcare ecosystem in Winston-Salem for years, making a deep, broad and profound impact on the wellbeing of people throughout the region,” Salem Academy and College President Summer Johnson McGee, Ph.D., CPH said. “Coupled with his remarkable administrative experience, Dr. McConnell is nationally respected for his clinical leadership and academic research. His service as vice chair of Salem’s board will be crucial to the Academy’s evolving STEAM focus and the College’s Health Leadership curriculum and partnership development in the coming years.”
A physician and translational researcher by training, Dr. McConnell served on the Advisory Board of National Institutes of Health and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004. He has received the Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons and the Fuller Award from the American Urological Association in recognition of his contributions to the field of prostate disease. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and ten books. In 2022, McConnell became an honorary member of the American Urological Association in recognition of his contributions to the field.
McConnell has served as a board member and advisor to a number of non-profit organizations that focus on healthcare, education, the arts and the development of an inclusive economy. His areas of experience include board-level change management, finance and investment, governance structure, strategic planning, inter-institutional affiliation and executive development.
His specific governance and leadership include: American Urological Association (Board member, task force leader, strategic advisor) North Carolina Healthcare Association (Chair of the Board, Finance and Policy Committees); Winston-Salem Foundation (Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of Finance and Investment); Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce (Board Chair); Winston-Salem Alliance (Board Member); United Way of Forsyth County (Board Member and Chair of Annual Campaign); Arts Council of Winston-Salem (Board Member and Chair of Annual Campaign); UNC School of the Arts (Capital Campaign Committee); University of Kansas College and Liberal Arts and Sciences (Campaign Committee); and Ursuline Academy of Dallas (Campaign Co-Chair for the Gates Math and Science Building project).