Dr. Deborah German, founding dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and vice president for health affairs, at the College of Medicine’s 14th White Coat Ceremony in July 2022. She conducts the students’ first class of medical school, “The Good Doctor – A UCF Tradition,” which has been a tradition since 2009.
Courtesy of Global Village Publishing
Founding dean of the UCF College of Medicine and Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. Deborah German will be stepping down from her role at the university following a 20-year tenure, according to an announcement Wednesday.
UCF plans to conduct a national search for her successor.
In the meantime, German will remain in her current roles. Following that transition, she will serve as a senior adviser for the president and provost of health affairs for one year.
German began as the only faculty member in the UCF College of Medicine in December 2006. She had the goal of making it an academic foundation for a growing medical hub in Central Florida, UCF President Alexander Cartwright said in a press release.
After two decades of leadership, German built the college from an idea into a research-intensive medical school. Today, 100% of its students are involved in research, from aerospace medicine to improving public health.
As of May 2023, the college has graduated 1,000 physicians.
“Because she dared, the UCF College of Medicine is now an engine of talent, research, and impact that is shaping healthcare for generations,” Cartwright said.
Originally from Rhode Island, German earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Boston University, a doctor of medicine from Harvard, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Rochester and a rheumatic and genetic diseases fellowship at Duke University.
When founding the school, German secured more than $6.5 million to fully fund the inaugural doctor of medicine class in 2009, marking the first time in U.S. history an entire medical school class received full four-year scholarships, Cartwright said.
Since 2009, German has conducted medical students’ first class at their White Coat Ceremony, titled “The Good Doctor — A UCF Tradition.” In this class, she asks students to think of someone they love and name the qualities they’d want in that person’s doctor. As they respond, Dr. German writes each trait on a blackboard that is displayed in the medical school atrium all year.
Dr. Deborah German, founding dean of the UCF College of Medicine and vice president for health affairs, honored with the Florida Woman of the Year award in 2023. German announced Wednesday that she would be stepping down from her role within the university.
Courtesy of College of Medicine
To expand graduate medical education, Cartwright said German partnered with HCA Healthcare and the Orlando VA Medical Center, growing residency and fellowship programs from 17 residents in 2014 to more than 720 physicians training across Florida in various specialties. German’s guidance brought the UCF College of Medicine 2025 graduates to a 100% residency match rate.
Under Germany’s leadership, the UCF Academic Health Sciences Center was created, uniting the UCF College of Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions and Sciences and UCF Health Student Health Services.
German advanced clinical research through an active clinical trials division and launched the aerospace medicine program in 2025. Taking advantage of UCF’s proximity to the Kennedy Space Center, German expanded medical research into space medicine, solving unique health challenges that occur in space.
German led the establishment of UCF Health Faculty Physician Practice, partnering with Grace Medical Home to create the student-run KNIGHTS Clinic for uninsured patients in Orange County. In December 2025, the UCF College of Medicine also launched a 38-foot mobile health clinic to serve underprivileged communities around Orange and Osceola counties.
“My goal in coming to UCF was to create the academic anchor of a new medical city,” German said. “That foundation is now fully in place; we have done a good job. Now it is time for new leadership that will take us to new heights.”
Cartwright said that German’s contributions will be celebrated in the coming months and information about the search process will be disclosed soon.
“Dr. German’s transition comes at a moment of strength for the College of Medicine and for UCF’s health sciences enterprise,” Cartwright said. “The foundation is strong, and the opportunities ahead in medical research, clinical innovation, and aerospace medicine are significant.”