Society Dean: Stacey Jolly, MD, MAS, FACP
The Caughey Society is named after Dr. John “Jack” Caughey Jr., an influential figure in medical education and a longtime leader at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Caughey also earned a doctorate in medical science from Columbia. After serving in WWII as a technical aide, he was recruited to CWRU in 1945 by Dr. Joseph Wearn as assistant dean of students.
Dr. Caughey helped lead a major overhaul of the medical school curriculum in 1952 alongside Dr. Wearn and Dr. T. Hale Ham. The new model introduced clinical training in the first year, replaced discipline-based teaching with an organ systems approach, emphasized compassion, and allowed more flexibility through electives and pass/fail grading. Their work received national acclaim, including the Abraham Flexner Award in 1974.
Dr. Caughey also shaped medical school admissions by personally interviewing applicants and welcoming non-traditional students—women, minorities, older individuals, and those from non-science majors—based on their potential for patient care. Known as a "one-man admissions committee," he remained active in interviewing students through 1995.
In 1996, the medical school honored him by establishing John L. Caughey, Jr., MD, Center for the Integration of Science and Medical Care. He was further honored in 2025 with the naming of the school’s seventh Academic Society: The Caughey Society.
Society Dean: Stacey Jolly, MD, MAS, FACP
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
Dean of the Caughey Society
Associate Professor of Medicine
E-mail: sej36@case.edu