HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Former Marshall University medical school dean Dr. Robert W. Coon has died. He was 96.

Marshall said Monday in a statement that Coon died Saturday in Burlington, Vermont.

Coon was appointed acting dean in 1976, just 18 months after the medical school was established. He later was named permanent dean and remained in the position until he retired in 1985.

Marshall says Coon’s family is planning a private funeral.