The GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) mourns the passing of beloved former dean and professor emeritus, Robert I. Keimowitz, M.D.
Dr. Keimowitz joined the SMHS faculty in 1970. Among his many leadership roles at GW SMHS, he served as assistant dean for admissions, dean for academic affairs and, from 1989 to 1998, as dean.
He was admired and respected by those that knew him and he made a significant positive impact on the lives of his patients, his students, and the faculty and staff whom he served and mentored. He was dedicated to the practice of medicine and remained an active member of the GW community long after he retired as dean. Until very recently, Dr. Keimowitz supervised medical students in the clinical setting as a preceptor and saw patients at the MFA.
"Bob Keimowitz was a great leader for the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. A caring and brilliant physician who was deeply dedicated to his students, he leaves a lasting legacy through his changes in the MD admissions process and curricular innovation, his mentorship of current SMHS leadership and faculty and through the thousands of alumni that he taught, advised and encouraged. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to Hazel and his entire family," said Jeffrey S. Akman, M.D., vice president for Health Affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, and dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. As he did for many other SMHS students, residents, faculty, staff and alumni, Dr. Keimowitz played a significant role in Dr. Akman's medical career.
Keimowitz said during an interview with Medicine + Health magazine, "My identity is completely tied to medicine. In addition to filling my personal interest in helping people, it merges absolutely fascinating science and it's wonderful to watch the science advance. So I keep phasing out, but never completely stopping because I love it."
His love for medicine was evident and he considered one of his greatest accomplishments at SMHS to be his overhaul of the admissions process and a curriculum revamp in 1993, which included the development of an innovative new program called "The Practice of Medicine (POM)." POM integrated the building blocks of a traditional medical education — a strong foundation of basic and clinical sciences — with early exposure to patients.
"There is no one more I respected at GW than Bob; for his intellect, his loyalty and his complete devotion to his students and patients. Very few are excellent educators as well as excellent clinicians, but Bob was both," said Alan Wasserman, M.D., chair of the Department of Medicine, Eugene Meyer Professor of Medicine, friend, and colleague of Dr. Keimowitz. "He was the most honest person I knew and didn't 'suffer fools lightly' especially when it came to social injustice. I had the great honor of recommending him for emeritus status and encouraged him to continue his clinical work until his illness no longer allowed. He was a unique individual who touched many lives including mine. I will greatly miss him and his continuing quest to make me a better person."
Keimowitz was born and raised in upstate New York and earned his bachelor's, master's, and medical degrees in the 1960s from the University of Vermont. He studied renal physiology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) before joining the SMHS faculty.
He is survived by his wife, Hazel, and their two daughters and four grandchildren.
The funeral for Dr. Keimowitz will take place Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 10 a.m. at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The family will receive guests and sit Shiva on Tuesday (3/29), Wednesday (3/30), Thursday (3/31), Saturday (4/2) and Sunday (4/3) evenings at 7:30 pm at 4620 North Park Avenue, Apt. 706W, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.
Donations in memory of Dr. Keimowitz may be made to the Robert I. Keimowitz Scholarship Fund at The George Washington University, 2600 Virginia Ave NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20037 or made online.
