Thomas A. Cavalieri, D.O.’76, was appointed by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan to serve on the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA). Cavalieri is dean of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) in Stratford, NJ.
Established by the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, the NCFMEA consists of 11 appointed members who evaluate the standards used by foreign countries to accredit medical schools and determine whether those standards are comparable to standards used to accredit medical schools in the United States. Foreign medical schools that lack the NCFMEA evaluation of their accrediting standards are not eligible to have their U.S. students receive federal student financial aid funds under Title IV of the HEA.
A long-standing member of the executive committee of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s (AACOM) Board of Deans, Cavalieri has also served since 2008 on the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and chaired the commission from 2012 to 2014. In 2003, he was appointed by the U.S. secretary of health and human services to serve on the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages. He has also served the state of New Jersey in various capacities, including during his appointment by the governor to the New Jersey Commission on Aging.
Cavalieri completed his residency in internal medicine and then pursued advanced training in geriatric medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine. He is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Osteopathic Internists, and the American Geriatrics Society.
In addition to serving as RowanSOM dean, Cavalieri is the Osteopathic Heritage Endowed Chair for primary care research and professor of medicine. He has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts and book chapters. His major research interests include end-of-life care and geriatric assessment; he has received numerous grants to fund research, training and education in geriatrics.
