The University of Iowa announced Thursday that Debra Schwinn will become the next dean of the Carver College of Medicine.

According to a UI press release, Schwinn is the head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, the Allan J. Treuer Endowed Professor of Anesthesiology, and adjunct professor of Pharmacology and Genome Sciences at the University of Washington-Seattle.

Schwinn will become dean on Nov. 1, pending approval from the state Board of Regents, and Donna Hammond will continue to serve as the acting dean until November, the release said.

"Dr. Schwinn is a highly successful clinician, educator, and researcher. We are absolutely delighted that she has agreed to join the faculty of the University of Iowa and to lead the world-renowned UI Carver College of Medicine," UI Provost Barry Butler said in the release.

Schwinn was an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, and she holds four U.S. patents and one Australian patent.

The new dean received a medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed a residency in anesthesiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The UI conducted the search for the new dean last month and interviewed four candidates for the position.

Schwinn told faculty and staff during a public forum on June 27 that she wanted to focus on industry-driven advancements.

"Health care is going to be more commodity-driven," she told officials at the forum.

Schwinn will replace former Dean Paul Rothman, who was named dean and chief executive officer of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine on Dec. 19, 2011.

— by Jordyn Reiland