Longtime Charleston Campus vice president and dean to retire

After more than 49 years with West Virginia University, John C. Linton, Ph.D., WVU Health Sciences Associate Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine’s Charleston Campus will retire effective Sept. 1, exactly 50 years to the day of his joining the WVU faculty as an assistant professor.

Dr. Linton has served in numerous leadership roles during his tenure, including serving as acting chair of Behavioral Medicine, and as interim associate vice president for Health Sciences.

“It’s been a rewarding and purposeful career and I wouldn’t change anything about this journey,” he said. “It’s been an honor to serve alongside the outstanding WVU faculty, students and CAMC team members throughout my tenure.”

And what a fulfilling journey it’s been for Linton, whose WVU career began on the main campus in Morgantown, where he spent a year before heading to Charleston. There, he was among the early faculty members who helped establish the University’s Charleston campus as a teaching and clinical center.

Linton said he initially planned to stay in Charleston for around three years to help establish the campus and build the relationship with the Charleston Area Medical Center. Decades later, he said he’s still in awe of the growth of a thriving campus.

WVU’s Charleston Campus includes approximately 75 medical students, 120 WVU faculty and a large alumni network.

“Through extraordinary leadership and mentoring, John has indelibly impacted countless students, trainees, faculty and staff over his tenure as Dean,” Clay Marsh, M.D., Chancellor and Executive Dean for Health Sciences, said. “He’s been instrumental in creating a culture of service, kindness and collaboration on the Charleston Campus, one of the oldest regional medical school campuses in the United States.”

For more than 44 years he directed the APA-accredited doctoral internship in psychology in Charleston, and for more than 29 years he served as the director of the medical student clerkship in psychiatry.

Linton is board certified in both clinical psychology and clinical health psychology, and is the past president of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers. His scholarly activities focus on behavioral health related to chronic medical conditions and bioethics as applied to emerging health care technology.

His work includes contributions related to obesity, bariatric surgery, psychological assessment in medical settings, professional issues, ethics, and life-long competencies in clinical health psychology. He was the founding editor of The Health Psychologist and served as editor from 1979 to 1994.

Linton completed his undergraduate studies at Lebanon Valley College and earned both his master’s and doctorate from Kent State University.

He says he intends to “reinvent himself” in retirement, but plans are in progress regarding staying in Charleston versus moving closer to his kids and granddaughters. As an emeritus professor, he will remain in contact with the Department of Behavioral Medicine for didactics with students and residents.

James Campbell, M.D., will serve as interim dean following Linton’s departure.

For more information on the Charleston Campus, visit medicine.wvu.edu/Charleston.

-WVU-

cat 8/16/23