Bryce Templeton, MD, MEd, emeritus professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine, has been awarded the top national award for excellence, leadership and creativity in education from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Templeton is a skilled academic administrator having served in various leadership roles at different universities in Philadelphia and has extensive experience developing new methodologies for the evaluation of knowledge, skills, problem solving ability and competencies of both trainees (medical students, residents) and practicing physicians. His career includes16 years at the National Board of Medical Examiners, where he helped organize both the NBME Part II exam and several special board exams. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Public Health Service at a federal prison in California, and on the consultation service at the University of Pittsburgh.

Templeton earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and completed his psychiatry residency training at North Carolina Memorial Hospital. He also holds a master's in education from the University of Illinois. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the American Psychiatric Association's NCA Roeske Certificate of Excellence in Medical Student Education.

The APA/NIMH Vestermark Psychiatry Educator Award was established in 1969 in memory of Seymour Vestermark, MD who was chief of the National Institute of Mental Health Training Branch from 1948-1959. Vestermark was a highly regarded authority in the field of professional mental health education. Templeton will receive his award during the 2012 American Psychiatry Association's Annual Meeting which will be held in Philadelphia in the spring.