Daniel C. Tosteson

Daniel Charles Tosteson (February 5, 1925 – May 27, 2009) was an American physician, physiologist, academic administrator, and dean of Harvard Medical School from 1977 to 1997. He was associated with the New Pathway curriculum at Harvard Medical School and served as president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1997 to 2000.

Early life and education Tosteson was born February 5, 1925 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in nearby Wauwatosa. His undergraduate education was at Harvard College (class of 1946), after which he went to Harvard Medical School, completing his M.D. in 1949. At Duke University, he became chair of physiology and pharmacology, before he was recruited to the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, where he was dean of the Division of Biological Science and vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. He returned to Harvard Medical School in 1977 as dean, after serving as dean at Chicago for just 18 months. He would hold the position of dean at Harvard for 20 years. After completing 20 years as dean at HMS, Tosteson went on to serve as president of American Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1997 to 2000.

Tosteson argued that medical education should emphasize attitudes and skills as well as factual knowledge, with lifelong learning as an important goal of medical education. Tosteson died May 27, 2009 at home in Boston, from complications of Parkinson’s disease.