Iris C. Gibbs M.D. ’95 departed her post as associate dean of admissions at Stanford Medicine on Nov. 30. Her departure from the position was first shared with Stanford Medicine students on Jan. 4, as the fifth bullet point in an otherwise routine student newsletter.

Some students raised concerns to The Daily about the delayed announcement and transparency surrounding her departure. 

In the interim, Gibbs was replaced by Stanford Medicine’s Director of Assessment Holly Caretta-Weyer and associate professor of medicine Vinicio de Jesus Perez M.D. ’06.

Gibbs, an oncologist by training, served as associate dean of Stanford Medicine since 2014. During her tenure, Stanford Medicine launched the HBCU Visiting Student and Faculty Exchange Program to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Stanford Medicine’s spokesperson Cecilia Arradaza wrote that Gibbs’s tenure ended when her appointment term expired naturally on Nov 30. She thanked the admissions team led by Dr. Gibbs for its “invaluable” contributions.

Some students expressed concerns about the timing and circumstances surrounding Gibbs’s departure.

A second-year medical student, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said it was highly unusual for a dean’s tenure to end in the middle of an admissions cycle. While an admissions cycle usually runs from June to April, Gibbs left in November.

The student said that at a town hall, multiple students had raised questions about Gibbs’s departure. “The answers that were given by the new deans were not very forthright,” they said. 

“Other students have since gone on and tried to speak to the administration about this and have not been able to receive more clarification on the,” they said.

Gibbs wrote in an email to The Daily that she appreciated the “concerns of the students for whom it has been my life’s honor to serve.”

She declined to comment further and wrote, “I look forward to addressing the circumstances at the appropriate time.”

Interim Associate Deans Caretta-Weyer and Jesus Perez wrote in a statement to The Daily that they “remain committed to admitting an outstanding and diverse body of students to Stanford, who are committed to advancing scholarship and clinical care across the many fields of medicine.”

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Dr. Gibbs led efforts to launch the Stanford African Scholars in Global Health program. The Daily regrets this error.