Richard Krugman, M.D.
Dean of Pediatric School of Medicine

Colorado

An internationally respected expert on child abuse and neglect, Dr. Richard Krugman is an extraordinary pediatrician and leader — an admired, deeply dedicated, and tireless advocate on behalf of children. Currently, Dr. Krugman serves as the Dean of the Pediatric School of Medicine, University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center, as well as editor-in-chief for Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal.

Three areas of Dr. Krugman's background particularly merit attention: his early experience as a pediatrician, his ability to bring together the many communities in which pediatrics is practiced, and his leadership in advocacy for maltreated children. Dr. Krugman has served as a caring critic of poor practices, as well as a builder of better child abuse research and management. Acting on his belief that there must be accountability for professionals charged with protecting children and their families, he began within a year of his arrival at the C. Henry Kempe Center to promote self-evaluation practices in an effort to encourage faculty and staff to learn more from both successes and errors in regard to intervention. He directed more attention to diagnosis of child abuse fatalities, researching and writing about fatal child abuse cases and testifying in well over 60 fatal child abuse and neglect cases in more than a dozen states.

To all his activities, he brings his wisdom and experience, incredible patience, warmth, depth of concern, and a great sense of humor. Dr. Richard Krugman's legacy is his ongoing effort to promote understanding and response to child maltreatment as a "mainstream issue" for pediatrics and society by his personal example and leadership and, most especially, his devoted and effective caring.