Deal lead the School of Medicine from October 1997 until October 2004, when he was named senior vice president and dean emeritus. Deal also served as the interim CEO of the UAB Health System from December 1998 until October 2000.Scheduled speakers include Ray Watts, M.D., president of UAB; Robert Witherspoon, a good friend and the manager of Facilities and Standards for the School of Medicine; Richard Marchase, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Economic Development; Allen Bolton, former associate dean for administration; and Anupam Agarwal, M.D., interim senior vice president of Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine.
Under Deal’s leadership, UAB’s international reputation in medical education, medical research and patient care grew. Funding from the National Institutes of Health topped $200 million and UAB’s research footprint grew with the construction of the Hugh Kaul Human Genetics Building and the Biomedical Research Building II. The position of dean was also elevated to include the title of senior vice president for Medicine at UAB.
Deal served on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Advisory Committee and was a member of the Alabama Rural Health Association, the National Rural Health Association and many other distinguished professional organizations. He chaired or was a member of many committees of the American Medical Association.
Deal grew up in Forest City, N.C., and was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1958 and a medical degree in 1963. He spent 25 years at the University of Florida, starting as an intern and rising through the ranks to become dean and vice president for Health Affairs in 1978. He later served as president of the Maine Medical Center and Foundation from 1988 until 1990 and joined UAB as associate dean and professor of Medicine in 1991. He was named senior associate dean in 1996 and interim dean in 1997 before taking on the role of permanent dean on Oct. 31, 1997.
Deal is survived by his wife, April, and daughters Kathleen Deal and Kimberly Wolpert, son-in-law Jim Wolpert and grandsons Matthew, Christopher and Andrew.