Nathaniel L. Bishop has been named senior associate dean for diversity, inclusion, and student vitality at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

Bishop most recently served as president of Jefferson College of Health Sciences, prior to its integration with Radford University this summer. In his role as president, he also served as chair of the Department of Interprofessionalism for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

After Jefferson College was intergrated into Radford, Bishop transitioned back to Carilion Clinic’s corporate office administration team. He will now devote a quarter of his time to the medical school for this new role, which is effective Oct. 8.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Bishop remain an integral part of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine,” said Lee Learman, dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “He already has strong working relationships in our school, in our community, and at Carilion Clinic. We will benefit greatly from his leadership and expertise.”

In this new cross-cutting role, Bishop will collaborate with the school’s current teams to focus on recruiting and retaining diverse students, staff, and faculty while also looking for ways to enhance programs, facilities, and resources to promote vitality for all students. He will collaborate with leaders in admissions, student affairs, faculty affairs, and others to enrich the school’s diversity, supportive learning environment, and student quality-of-life.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to continue serving at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in a new capacity,” said Bishop. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the teams in place at the medical school to continue making it a welcoming environment that attracts the best and diverse students, faculty, and staff to be part of the community.”

One focus area for Bishop will be to create mentoring communities to support the success of groups that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine, in collaboration with the school’s chief diversity officer, Karen Eley Sanders.

“NL has been a true partner for the medical school from its infancy to the present,” said Daniel Harrington, vice dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “He first helped plan our building through his role with facilities at Carilion Clinic. After assuming the presidency of Jefferson College, we continued to collaborate and looked for ways for the schools to partner. His leadership as our chair of interprofessionalism was invaluable in helping us pilot a new type of curriculum unique among medical schools. We are glad he has a new role on the leadership team.”

Bishop began his career in health care managing continuing-care retirement communities. In 1997, he joined Carilion Clinic, where he served in successive leadership roles until being named president of Jefferson College in 2010.

Bishop holds an undergraduate degree in sociology of law enforcement from Radford University, a master’s degree in education from Virginia Tech, and a doctor of ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.

NL Bishop speaking at graduation
NL Bishop speaks during the 2018 graduation ceremony for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
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