Dr. Kerwyn Flowers,  who joined the Florida State University College of Medicine in 2017 and has served as Director of Rural Medical Education since 2019, has been appointed dean of the Tallahassee Regional Campus.

College of Medicine Dean Dr. Alma Littles shared the announcement in a Friday message to students, faculty and staff.

“Having served as Director of Rural Medical Education and chair of the curriculum committee, leading the third- and fourth-year medical education program, Dr. Flowers is well-positioned to take on this new role,” Littles said. “Throughout her tenure at the College of Medicine, she has gained the respect of students, patients and faculty.

“She has a track record of excellent patient care and outstanding evaluations from her students. I have no doubt she will continue to be an excellent leader and mentor for the students, staff and faculty at the Tallahassee Regional Campus.”

Flowers is no stranger to Tallahassee and the Big Bend. The Quincy, Florida, native earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Florida A&M University and is a graduate of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at Akron City Hospital in Ohio and later returned to private practice in North Florida and South Georgia.

She was drawn to the position by her passion for regional education and the greater scope and impact that can be made through community engagement in her new role.

“This passion for regional education that lives inside of me started with a spark, being a part of one of FSU’s programs,” said Flowers, who participated in an outreach program while in high school. “I appreciate our mission and how we’re deeply committed to be available and aware of community needs of the underserved and rural communities.”

Prior to her arrival at the College of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Flowers was a faculty member of the Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia. There, she trained residents and medical students and served as Director of Osteopathic Medical Education. In addition, Flowers has honed her leadership skills through fellowships in Academic Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University and Faculty Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In her clinical role at the College of Medicine, she practices general family medicine and teaches in the context of direct patient care. She has been the faculty advisor for the FSU Student Chapter of the Florida Rural Health Association and has led the College’s Rural Learning Experience trip the past two years.

“I’ve been in roles where I mentor students since I started in academia, and I love that dynamic of passing on knowledge to the next generation,” Flowers said. “I see this role not just being a mentor to students, but to faculty and staff as well…creating this collaborative culture between myself and the faculty to find ways to improve each other.”

One of the College of Medicine’s six regional campus, where students gain clinical experience out in the community, the Tallahassee Regional Campus is home to approximately 40 third- or fourth-year medical students and 10 PA students each year.

Flowers succeeds Dr. Sandeep Rahangdale, who has led the Tallahassee Regional Campus for the past eight years and has taken a leave of absence from the College of Medicine to work in public health outside the area.

Contact Bob Thomas, robert.thomas@med.fsu.edu