2020 Dean's Distinguished Awards

Every year, the faculty advisory committee and the Dean select faculty members to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the College of Medicine in teaching, research, and service. This year’s recipients were Dr. Reid Blackwelder, Dr. Mark Young, and Dr. Ken Ferslew.

Dr. Reid Blackwelder, Professor and Chair of Family Medicine, received the Dean’s Distinguished Award for Teaching.

Since 2000, Dr. Blackwelder has received 37 ETSU/Quillen teaching honors and awards. Throughout his time at Quillen, he has also been frequently recognized for his strong commitment to humanism and patient-centered care in medicine and has been recognized at the local and national level for his efforts to improve patient care by facilitating professional development of family physicians.

His service roles at ETSU are many and include several that particularly relevant to medical education such as service on the Medical Student Education Committee, the Student Promotions Committee, as well as co-chairing the IGR Implementation Committee and chairing the Medical Student Admissions Committee.

“His educational acumen, combined with clinical and academic expertise, has made Dr. Blackwelder an invaluable resource for education at Quillen College of Medicine,” said Dr. Robert V. Schoborg, Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. “He consistently demonstrates compassion and empathy for patients and learners, as well as social and professional responsibility. Thus, he models the values to which we want all Quillen students to aspire.”

Dr. Mark Young, Professor and Fellowship Program Director of Gastroenterology, received the Dean’s Distinguished Award for Research.

Dr. Young earned his undergraduate and medical degree at ETSU and also completed an internship and residency at Quillen’s Department of Internal Medicine. He completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Arizona.

While at Quillen, Young has developed a unique fellowship program that emphasizes training that aims to enhance opportunities in academic as well as clinical medicine. He has inspired and mentored his residents and fellows to participate in clinical research, to write scientific papers, and to present research at national and international conferences.

The results of his own research have been published in several peer-reviewed journals.

“The most notable aspect of Dr. Young’s mentoring is how he helps his residents to build their careers in academic medicine,” said Dr. Kalpit Devani, Chief Fellow in the Division of Gastroenterology at ETSU and Associate Editor of the American College of Gastroenterology Case Reports Journal. “I am just one example; he has trained numerous residents and fellows who have progressed to be successful clinical and academic gastroenterologists.”

Dr. Ken Ferslew, Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, received the Dean’s Distinguished Award for Service.

From the time of his initial faculty appointment at Quillen College of Medicine in the 1980s, Ferslew has been devoted to the Toxicology arena and was instrumental in developing the Toxicology program. Over a short time span, his laboratory center broached the area of forensics, and as the forensics program developed over the years, he was formally designated as Director of the Toxicology Laboratory and successfully secured funding for the Center of Toxicology Building on the VA Campus.

In this program, Dr. Ferslew administered a staff that provided forensics analysis for East Tennessee and on contract with western parts of Tennessee, Virginia, and outlying regions. These and other efforts were valuable in police work, providing relevant information in many court cases. As a recognized authority in Toxicology, Dr. Ferslew has trained six students for their Ph.D. degree, with a focus on Toxicology.

“This service activity has consumed Dr. Ferslew’s career and represents who he is,” said Dr. Richard M. Kostrzewa, Professor at Quillen College of Medicine. “He is a true professional in his service work.”