Medical Director of the Davison Health Center Dr. Davis Smith announced on April 12 his decision to leave the University at the end of the semester. Smith has worked at Wesleyan since 2001 and has served as Medical Director since 2002. He plans to start a new practice in Unionville, focusing on providing services for adolescents and members of the LGBT community.

“I’ve been here for eleven years and I’ve loved it and really enjoyed it,” Smith said. “But I feel like I’ve kind of done everything I can with the job and I’m ready for some new challenges. This new practice confers some advantages that I don’t have currently. It’s eight minutes from my home instead of 45, and I’ll be practicing with my wife who is also a doctor of internal medicine. I’m going to be able to do more on a research track, focusing in transgender care. Mostly it’s something different.”

According to Smith, he had been considering this move for about a year and will be moving on after the end of the semester. Additionally, he stated that he has had a longstanding desire to work with medically-underserved groups and has an opportunity to pursue this interest through his new practice.

“I am marketing primarily to adolescents and lesbians, gays, and trans [people],” Smith said. “When I was in medical school, I always imagined that I would be serving an underserved population, the transgender population in particular. I thought that welcoming that community would be a way to develop a niche for myself in forming a practice.”

With Smith leaving the University, the search for a new Medical Director has begun. Smith stated that interviews for the position would begin soon and continue throughout the summer.

“I have every confidence that there will be a great director for September,” Smith said.

Smith reflected positively on his experience at the University and his interactions with both students and faculty.

“I want to thank all the people I’ve cared for. I really feel they were wonderful people to work with—both students and faculty,” Smith said. “It’s been a whole lot of fun. A lot of the time I meet people in really vulnerable moments and most of the time people really trust me. I recognize that this is something really important and I appreciate that trust.”