Announcing the Passing of Edward J. Stemmler, MD
January 10, 2023
I write with sadness to let you know of the passing of Dr. Edward J. Stemmler, Robert G. Dunlop Professor of Medicine emeritus and former dean of the School of Medicine, at the age of 93. Dr. Stemmler will be remembered for his warmth and generosity, diplomacy and vision, and enduring impact on our organization. We extend our condolences to his family.
Edward J. Stemmler, MD was born in Philadelphia on February 15, 1929 and his educational training and career at Penn qualify him as a consummate Quaker. An alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed an internship and residency in Medicine and a fellowship in Cardiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) followed by a Post-Doctoral NIH Fellowship in Pulmonary Physiology in the Graduate Department of Physiology. At HUP, he completed his internship and residency, a fellowship in Cardiology, and served as chief medical resident in 1964. He was appointed instructor in medicine the same year, associate in Medicine in 1966 and assistant professor in 1967. He was promoted as associate professor in 1970 and professor of medicine in 1974. In 1981, he was awarded the inaugural Robert G. Dunlop Professorship.
Administratively, Dr. Stemmler’s accomplishments are equally extensive. He served as chief of the Medical Outpatient Department of HUP and as chief of medicine on the Penn medical service at the Veterans Affairs Hospital of Philadelphia, was subsequently appointed associate dean for student affairs at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1973 and then as acting dean in 1974.
Dr. Stemmler held the position of dean of the Penn School of Medicine from 1975 to 1988. In 1986, he was appointed executive vice president of the newly established University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, which included the School of Medicine, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP). Under his leadership, the School of Medicine experienced remarkable growth in biomedical research as well as in the construction and modernization of academic, research and clinical facilities. Among his most innovative and abiding contributions was the successful creation of CPUP, a model that redefined our enterprise and intrinsically links our mission areas to this day.
In 1990, Dr. Stemmler was appointed executive vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and served in that position until 1993. Beyond his medical and administrative responsibilities at Penn and the AAMC, Dr. Stemmler was extensively involved in regional and national professional activities. He served on the National Board of Medical Examiners, was elected a master of the American College of Physicians (1985), and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Three of our esteemed faculty members and Dr. Stemmler’s contemporaries have shared their own insights and reflections on Dr. Stemmler’s landmark leadership:
“As contemporaries, Ed Stemmler and I were friends for many years. While I was a HUP resident on Dr. Ravdin’s service, Ed rotated as my intern. He was the best doctor I knew, whether staffing a clinic, as the administrator of Penn’s service at the VA or in the ICU taking care of a patient with heart failure or a bleeding ulcer. Because, as a physician, he had grown up in the crucible of the HUP residency, he knew most of the future faculty members and leaders he would later serve as Dean. It was a gift that he was able to maintain these friendships when he became the boss, never an easy accomplishment.
Ed had a personal, easy-going, almost old-fashioned style which belied his keen intellect and determination. This style worked for him and, while he was Dean, it worked for the school which prospered, fostered research, developed a national image and grew in stature. It helped Ed make it a happy place to work.”
- Clyde F. Barker, MD
“Ed is responsible for conceiving the Clinician-Educator promotion track and shepherding its adoption by the University. The CE track was foundational to creating a full-time clinical faculty. The traditional tenure track, the only track available at the time, could not support the needed number of full-time clinical faculty positions. To accomplish this, in order to create the CE track he had to convince the University leadership of its importance and value and also had to convince the Penn Medicine faculty that it was not a second class track. Both of these tasks required a lot of effort, resourcefulness and skill.
"Ed was a wonderful man, truly, 'your friend, the dean' among whose many achievements as dean was laying the foundation for Penn Medicine to transition from an almost completely voluntary clinical staff to the current fully employed model that has enabled us to achieve so much. This was a very complex undertaking both with respect to the University and to the Medical School faculty. I think that a lot of people might not realize how foundational his achievement was.”
- John W. Hirschfeld, Jr., MD
“Dr. Stemmler, in 1976, realized the potential for unified physician organizations when he created the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP). Forty seven years later, that vision persists with one of the most successful physician organizations in academic medicine."
- Peter D. Quinn DMD, MD
A remembrance page and obituary shared by Dr. Stemmler’s family is available. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Residents or Staff Assistance Funds at Kendal or to the Joan K. Stemmler and Edward J. Stemmler Endowed Scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania Stemmler Scholarship Fund. For the latter, checks may be made out to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania; include in memory of Edward J. Stemmler, on the memo line. Please send Attn: Laura Weber, Penn Arts & Science Advancement, 3600 Market St., Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Sincerely,