Dr. Vincent A. Fulginiti is currently Chancellor Emeritus, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Professor Emeritus, at Departments of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the University of Arizona College of Medicine, AHSC. He is retired and lives in Tucson with his wife, Shirley. All three of his children and grandchildren live in Arizona.
He was educated at Temple University where he received successive degrees of BS (1953), MD (1957), and MSc (1961). He interned at Philadelphia General Hospital (1957-58), completed a pediatric residency between 1958 and 1960 at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (Temple University-Philadelphia) and was Chief Resident there (1960-61). He completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases (C. Henry Kempe-mentor) at the University of Colorado (1961-62), after which he joined the faculty there rising to the rank of Associate Professor.
In 1969 he became the founding department head of Pediatrics at the new medical school at the University of Arizona, remaining in that position for the next 16 years. He then successively became Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (1985-1988) and Acting Dean (1988-1989) there. For the next 4 years he was Dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, and in 1993 became Chancellor of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, resigning that position after 5 years in early 1998.
Dr. Fulginiti’s interests have encompassed: health professional education; general pediatrics; pediatric infectious diseases, immunization and immunology; medical curriculum; health care ethics; faculty development; and various levels of health science administration and leadership. His major contributions in these areas have been:
1. Delineation of the underlying immunologic mechanisms involved in adverse reactions
to smallpox vaccine. A major breakthrough involved the discovery of dissociation of cell
mediated immune function deficiency with intact antibody production and function.
2. Analysis of the abnormal reactions to killed measles virus vaccine (atypical measles)
and to killed respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
3. Multiple contributions to the development, deployment and assessment of a variety of
viral vaccines.
4. Initial understanding of the infectious complications of liver transplantation in children.
5. Development of a major text and method of analyzing clinical problem solving.
6. Development of an interactive computer based program in pediatric clinical problem
solving.
7. Initiation and development of offices of education and computer laboratories for
students in three major academic institutions (University of Arizona School of Medicine,
Tulane University School of Medicine & the University of Colorado).
8. Description and analysis of the major issues facing academic health centers in the
modern clinical/research/educational milieu.
9. Initiation of the first all academic health center ethics program (as opposed to
programs contained within a single health professional school), with the first all campus
Interprofessional Education program in Ethics. Also consolidated genetics, geriatrics
and the AHEC in the Chancellor’s Office.
10. Initiation and initial development of the move of a major academic health center from
its cramped urban site to a new, five times larger location 6 miles away, (the
University of Colorado's new Anschutz Medical Campus).
11. Moderated two important affiliations; with Denver Children’s Hospital and with the
Rocky Mountain Lions and the Department of Ophthalmology and the University of
Colorado Hospital.
He has been on editorial boards of peer-reviewed professional journals and was Chief Editor of the American Journal of Diseases of Children for 11 years. In 1999, he was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Medscape Medical Journal, (Medscape General Medicine or MedGenMed), an all electronic Internet journal. He has published or edited 4 books and written more than 200 original articles, book chapters, editorials and other professional communications. He has authored 8 computerized interactive case studies for medical students and practitioners in pediatric infectious diseases.
Dr. Fulginiti’s honors, awards and officerships include: AOA membership; research awards from the Philadelphia Pediatric Society and the Western Society for Pediatric Research; teaching awards from the University of Arizona Foundation, the Western Society for Pediatric Research, the student bodies of the Universities of Arizona and Tulane, and the Ambulatory Pediatric Society of America; alumni awards from Temple University and the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Colorado; a Markle Scholarship; a Fullbright Travel Scholarship; the Abraham Jacoby Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics; the J. St. Geme Award of the Federation of Pediatric Professional and Research Societies; and a Fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Recently, he was awarded the first Annual Veritas Award for outstanding contributions to the Program on Health Care Ethics, Law and Humanities of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and the Joseph Sewall Award of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education, May, 2012 by Pima County Medical Foundation and Pima County Medical Society.
He has also been President of the Western Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society; member and Chair of the Academy of Pediatrics “Red Book” Committee (Committee on Infectious Diseases); member and Chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee of the US Public Health Service.
Dr. Fulginiti has traveled extensively throughout the United States and the world lecturing on topics within his sphere of interest. He has been a named lecturer at a number of sites.
Dr. Fulginiti has served on the Colorado Symphony Board of Trustees, the Committee for the Citizen of the West, and Chair of the University Hospital Board of Directors, the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce’s Network Board of Governors and various other civic groups. He has chaired the President’s Leadership Council of the Colorado Medical Society. He is a member of the Committee for Interdisciplinary Community-Based Learning, and on the Advisory Committee of the Section on Global Health, both committees of the Association of Academic Health Centers, a member of the Brighton Collaboration for Definition of Adverse Events after Smallpox Vaccination, a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s Working Group on Smallpox, a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Smallpox Vaccine Implementation, consultant to the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Bioterrorism Preparedness, and consultant to the Centers for Disease Control for Smallpox, Smallpox Vaccine, Adverse Events and to the Clinical Team for Monkeypox Infections.
In 2002 and 2003 Dr. Fulginiti authored a website on Smallpox Vaccination for HHS and the CDC, a brochure distributed to 3 million health care workers, and four scientific publications on adverse events, transmission and contact vaccinia.
Current activities:
- Chair, Workgroup for Case Based Instruction, University of Arizona College of
Medicine. (2010-11)
- Member, Advisory Board for Patient Channel, NBC/General Electric Health until 2011
- Member, Advisory Board, Pediatrics in Review journal, now Emeritus
- Co-Chair, Medical Research Corps for Southern Arizona 2003-2010
- Co-Chair, Board of Arizona Art, Science and Technology Academy( AASTA) and
Founding Fellow (2004-2009)
- Member, Pima County Board of Health
Member, Subcommittee on Budget, PCBH
Member, Community Projects Committee
- Member, Advisory Board for the Arizona Academy (Academy Village)
Member, Nominating Committee
- Member, Board of Directors of University of Arizona Health Network (2010-12)
Member, Search Committee for CEO
Member, Management Compensation Committee
Member, Pension Committee
- Member, Coordinating Council for Interprofessional Education at University of Arizona
College of Medicine Curriculum Committee
- Facilitator, Collaboration Across Borders III International Conference, Tucson (2011)
- Inteviewer, Admissions; University of Arizona College of Medicine
- Instructor, Ethics lecture and small group facilitator, Infection and Immunology Block
Curriculum; University of Arizona College of Medicine, IPEP groups for Pandemic Flu and
Disabilities
- Member, Tucson Committee of Foreign Relations
- Member, Graduate Club
- Consultant, Arizona Department of Health, for Bioterrorism