Remembering Richard Kozera, MD, FACP – From Larry Kaiser, MD, FACS

Dear Colleagues,
 
I am deeply saddened to report that on Wednesday, August 13, the School of Medicine lost our dear friend, ambassador and trusted and valued administrator, Richard J. Kozera, MD, FACP, Executive Associate Dean. He was 74.

Since first joining the Temple leadership team in 1987 as Professor of Medicine in the Section of Endocrinology, Dick held a variety of leadership posts at the School of Medicine – and three times served as Acting Dean (1991, 1996, and 2002).
 
During his tenure of 27 years, Dick helped the School meet many important challenges. A meticulous administrator and walking Wikipedia of school history, he oversaw the School’s LCME accreditation site visits, presided over several renewals of its curriculum, and at one time or another committed his unfailing attention to nearly every operational and strategic function imaginable – from admissions to faculty affairs, space planning, affiliate relations, finance, and more. No detail escaped his attention.
 
Although he focused primarily on medical education and administration, he was a board-certified internist and endocrinologist who continued to see patients – and was sought-out for his expertise in thyroid disease.
 
A native of Massachusetts, Dick received his undergraduate education from Amherst in 1961, his M.D. degree from Yale in 1965, and completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine and endocrinology at the University of Cincinnati. During the Vietnam War, he served as a Lieutenant Commander with the 1st Marine Division of the U.S. Naval Reserve Medical Corps. Following his military service, he returned to Cincinnati and rose through the ranks at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Prior to leaving Ohio to accept a post at Temple, he was Chief of the Department of Medicine at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
 
Just last week, Dick served as Master of Ceremonies at our White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2018, a role he carried out faithfully at every White Coat Ceremony and Medical School Commencement. He will be sorely missed for his acerbic wit, his analytical fastidiousness, and most of all, for his unassailable devotion to the School, its students, its faculty and its community. He lived and breathed the Temple mission.
 
Dick is survived by his three children, three grandchildren, and was predeceased by his wife, Virginia.
 
Plans are underway for a lasting tribute to honor his many contributions to
Temple. Those wishing to make memorial contributions in Dr. Kozera’s honor or support the Richard Kozera, MD Memorial Fund can do so by contacting Temple University School of Medicine, Office of Institutional Advancement, 3500 North Broad Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19140, or visiting giving.temple.edu/GiveToMed.
 
I know you join me in mourning this significant loss and in extending our deepest condolences to his family.
 
Sincerely,
 
Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FACS
Senior Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, Temple University
Dean & Professor of Surgery, Temple University School of Medicine
President and CEO, Temple University Health System