Jack Colwill, MD, who began his career in internal medicine, came to MU in 1964 to serve as an assistant dean of the School of Medicine. In 1976, he was named the first permanent chair of MU Family and Community Medicine.
In 1979, Dr. Colwill led efforts to bring the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Academic Family Medicine Fellowship Program to MU. In its early years, the fellowship helped address the shortage of faculty members across the country. It also helped build the research side of our department.
A nationally recognized expert in physician workforce issues, Jack has addressed the need to expand primary care services, especially for underserved and rural populations, throughout his career. From 1990-1996, he served on the Council on Graduate Medical Education, a committee that advises Congress and the president on physician workforce issues. And from 1992-2000, he directed the RWJF Generalist Physician Initiative, a project designed to help medical schools recruit and educate generalist physicians.
In 1989, Dr. Colwill was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine). He earned Society of Teachers of Family Medicine’s Marian Bishop Award in 2002, and in 2004, he was named a National Associate of The National Academies.
Since retiring in 1997, Dr. Colwill has more time for family. He spends his summers in Utah with Win, his wife of nearly 55 years, and he travels across the country to visit his three children and four grandchildren.