Tom Koenig, associate dean for medical student affairs, will be retiring from our faculty and leaving Johns Hopkins at the end of May 2021. Tom’s impact as an adviser and passionate advocate for medical students will be impossible to replace. Perhaps even more, his humanity and friendship will be missed by faculty, students and staff in the school of medicine.
With the exception of his internship year at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Koenig has spent the last 35 years at Johns Hopkins. He received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1989, and after internship, he returned for residency and chief residency in psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Upon joining the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry in 1994, Dr. Koenig became the director of the psychiatry clerkship, a position he maintained for 10 years. In 2005, he received the George J. Stuart Award, a recognition given annually to a member of the faculty chosen as the outstanding clinical teacher by graduating medical students. In addition to his roles with students, Dr. Koenig is a dedicated clinician in the Johns Hopkins Community Psychiatry Program’s Hispanic Clinic, providing mental health services for individuals of Hispanic origin in Maryland.
Without doubt, though, it is as associate dean for medical student affairs that Tom has made the greatest impact. Over 16-plus years, Tom has advised nearly 2,000 medical students, shaping the next generation of healers and leaders in medicine. His compassionate and gentle approach has helped students navigate medical school and professional life. Many will immediately recall Tom’s broad smile each year as he celebrates our students’ accomplishments at convocation, and his meticulous pronunciation of each student’s name, an opportunity he will have one last time this May.
Please join us in expressing appreciation for all that Dr. Koenig has done for our medical students and our school, and wish him the best in retirement.