The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) announced the appointment of Lorenzo Norris, MD, FACP, to a new leadership role, Senior Associate Dean for Education, effective Jan. 5, 2026.
Over the past year, Norris has served as Interim Senior Associate Dean for MD Programs, during which time he led the MD program team with a focus on educational excellence, administrative performance enhancement, and student engagement and support.
“I’m pleased to share that Dr. Norris will assume the permanent responsibilities of his updated title, Senior Associate Dean for Education,” said Barbara Lee Bass, MD, FACS, vice president for health affairs and dean of GW SMHS, Walter A. Bloedorn Chair of Administrative Medicine, and professor of surgery.
“This role,” continued Bass, “will bring a cohesive focus to all of our educational efforts at SMHS, working in concert with the leadership of our MD and Health Sciences programs.”
In this new position, Norris will continue to report to the dean and will provide comprehensive leadership for the ongoing development, implementation, and evaluation of degree-granting programs within the SMHS Education Pillar.
Building on the school’s tradition of collaborative scholarship and innovative educational excellence, the role oversees GW SMHS MD education, health science, and international medicine programs; leads the strategic vision for all educational programs while managing associated budgets; provides leadership for core units that support education and teaching — including admissions, student affairs, curricular affairs, the CLASS Center, and Graduate Medical Education; and ensures effective operations and compliance for the accreditation of all educational programs, including LCME and ACGME.
Norris will work collaboratively with SMHS Pillar leaders, faculty, staff, academic committees, and leadership at the school’s clinical education sites — including the GW Regional Medical Campus at LifeBridge Health — to ensure graduates are fully prepared for future training and practice, as well as interprofessional clinical practice and medical research.
Norris brings a wealth of experience to this critical role. Since joining GW in 2006, he has held numerous leadership positions, including his appointment as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for the MD program in 2014. He was promoted to Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Administration in 2019, where he led the student affairs decanal team.
His clinical practice is based at GW Hospital, where he has served as director of the Consult Liaison Service and as medical director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Services. He continues to practice as an attending physician, and his scholarly work focuses on cancer survivorship and psychotherapy.
“Throughout his leadership progression with SMHS, Dr. Norris has brought positive energy and innovative solutions to improve the MD experience for our students and to advance our school’s tradition of educational excellence,” added Bass. “His transformative leadership as the Chief Wellness Officer and Medical Director of the Resiliency & Well-being Center — founded amidst the unprecedented challenges of COVID — was instrumental in providing a critically important service and educational support to our GW academic medical community.”
Norris earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, completed his psychiatry training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and completed fellowship training in Consult Liaison Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.
