Robert M. Craft, MD

Robert M. Craft, MD is the former Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Knoxville, where he served for more than three decades as a clinician, educator, researcher, and physician leader before retiring in 2025.

He first joined UTHSC as a medical student in 1984, then completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, followed by a neuroanesthesiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic, and returned to the Knoxville campus in 1994 as an anesthesiology faculty member. Over the course of his career, Dr. Craft served as faculty member, residency program director, department chair, and dean, with a sustained focus on graduate medical education, mentorship, and institutional growth.

From 2015 to 2022, Dr. Craft served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, overseeing significant expansion in clinical care, education, and research. During his tenure, the department advanced its Critical Care and Pain Management divisions, launched three new fellowships in Perioperative Medicine, Pain Management, and Regional Anesthesia, and grew to include 40 faculty, 40 residents, and more than 100 CRNAs providing care across 78 clinical sites on four campuses. Under his leadership, the department established a $3.5 million basic science research collaboration with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, placing it in the top quartile nationally for NIH funding among anesthesiology programs from 2016 to 2019.

Dr. Craft’s research career focused on perioperative optimization and the evaluation of blood coagulation efficiency, including thromboelastography. His work was supported by foundation, association, and industry-sponsored grants. He served as a principal investigator and former board member of the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group, a national collaboration of more than sixty hospitals dedicated to improving perioperative outcomes through data-driven research.

Throughout his career, Dr. Craft was recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and leadership. His honors include two University of Tennessee Excellence in Teaching Awards and an Excellence in Clinical Research Award. He was selected as an inaugural member of the UTHSC COM-Knoxville Academy of Scholars and the UT Medical Center Physician Leadership Academy. His experience in physician leadership development led to the creation of the Resident Leadership Series and the Perioperative Medicine Fellowship, both developed in collaboration with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Haslam College of Business.

Dr. Craft also held national leadership roles in graduate medical education and anesthesiology, including service with the Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors, representation within the AAMC Organization of Program Directors Association, and work as a written examination editor for the American Board of Anesthesiology.

As campus dean from 2022 through 2025, Dr. Craft guided a period of sustained academic and institutional growth. His leadership laid the foundation for a 25 percent expansion in graduate medical education positions, including the development of a Pediatric Residency in partnership with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. He also led the campus through its transition from the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine to the UTHSC College of Medicine, Knoxville, aligning the campus name with its expanding academic mission and reinforcing its role as a full academic partner within the University of Tennessee system. He retired on December 31, 2025, leaving a legacy defined by academic growth, mentorship, and a lasting impact on medical education, research, and patient care in Knoxville.

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