Interim Dean and Professor of Surgery Dr. Juan C. Cendan has been appointed senior vice-president for health affairs and dean of the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM).
Dr. Cendan joined FIU last summer as vice-dean and executive associate dean for student affairs. He is a board-certified surgeon with a clinical focus on minimally invasive surgery and surgical disorders of the breast. He also has a lengthy career in academic medicine.
Following his medical training at the University of Florida, Dr. Cendan practiced as a general surgeon in Gainesville, Florida. He then returned to UF as faculty, where he developed an academic focus on simulation-based medical education.
Dr. Cendan joined the University of Central Florida College of Medicine as founding faculty in 2010, where he served several institutional roles, including assistant dean for simulation, medical director of the simulation laboratory, and chairman of the department of medical education. As provost chair and associate dean in residence alongside UCF’s provost, he developed the framework for founding the UCF Academic Health Center.
