President’s Award for Excellence—Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching

Dean Parmelee, M.D., associate dean for academic affairs at the Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Dean Parmelee, M.D., has been associate dean for academic affairs at the Boonshoft School of Medicine since arriving at Wright State University in 2001. In that time, he has made a significant educational impact on Wright State students and the global medical education community.

Dr. Parmelee is well known nationally and internationally for his promotion and refinement of active learning strategies, specifically Team-Based Learning. He has edited four text books and authored or co-authored many book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on child and adolescent psychiatry, psychoanalysis, medical ethics, pediatrics, and medical education.  Perhaps his most significant scholarly contribution to medical education is the book he co-edited, Team-Based Learning in Health Professions Education (2007), which has been translated into other languages.

Parmelee’s ambition is to move medical education to active learning methods, which cultivates a zeal for lifelong learning. He has challenged medical educators to create meaningful learning experiences and to help students develop skills in critical thinking.

“He wants students, no matter what area of medicine they enter, to think about the complexities of the human spirit, about healing in a spiritual sense, and to be able to recognize and treat the common psychiatric disorders in an effective and compassionate manner,” said Brenda J. B. Roman, assistant dean for curriculum development.

Since coming to Wright State, Parmelee has led the transformation of the curriculum from largely passive-learning experiences to active-learning strategies. At the same time, he has sought to transform all of medical education with his leadership at the international level in utilizing Team-Based Learning as an active-learning strategy.