August 21, 2003
Acosta named assistant dean
Tacoma family physician Dr. David A. Acosta has been named assistant dean for multicultural affairs at the UW School of Medicine. His appointment is effective Sept. 22.
He comes to this position from the Tacoma Family Medicine teaching site, where he was clinical associate professor of family medicine and program director of the rural health fellowship.
Acosta succeeds Charlie Garcia, who has retired. In the interim, Victoria Gardner, manager of program operations, has overseen the medical school’s multicultural programs. Acosta will oversee the medical school’s efforts to encourage underrepresented and disadvantaged students to train for medical careers. Multicultural affairs has a variety of programs to prepare and support students at all stages of becoming physicians, from high school through college, pre-admission, medical school, and residency choice.
Multicultural Affairs assists several student organizations, such as the Medicine Wheel Society, and offers opportunities for all medical students to learn about health care for diverse populations. Acosta also will oversee some faculty development programs.
A former fellow in the UW Family Medicine Faculty Development Program, Acosta has 20 years experience in teaching and mentoring medical students, residents, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. He has designed training curricula for rural and urban underserved clinical sites, and has researched health-care workforce issues. He is a graduate of University of California-Irvine College of Medicine.
He is also a musician who has done benefit concerts for shelters, schools, and hospitals. He plays the piano, guitar, and saxophone. In his free time he enjoys fishing, camping, cross-country skiing, volleyball, basketball, and woodcarving. He and his wife Sharon Acosta have six children.
