Senior Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences and John & Gertrude Petersen Dean, School of Medicine

An invitation to apply for the position of

Senior Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences; and
John and Gertrude Petersen Dean, School of Medicine

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The University of Pittsburgh seeks an inspiring leader to serve as the next Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Pitt and its partner, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), intend—through science, education, and the organization of care—to transform the delivery of human health. The senior vice chancellor will lead the academic arm of Pitt’s Academic Health Center, contribute to the long and successful trajectory of the health sciences and of the UPMC clinical enterprise, and champion university values and accelerate performance.

During the tenure of the current senior vice chancellor and dean (SVC/dean), the health sciences schools have catapulted to a leading position in the American academy. Twenty years ago, Pitt health sciences schools were only modestly ranked. In fiscal year 2018, Pitt ranked fifth in funding dollars awarded by the National Institutes of Health. Of the $577 million in NIH funding awarded to Pitt in 2018, health sciences schools accounted for $529 million, with $456 million attributed to faculty members in Pitt’s School of Medicine. All six health sciences schools rank in the top 15 nationally.

Pitt’s academic eminence relies on its close partnership with UPMC—a prestigious nonprofit that grew out of the university. Now an independent entity, UPMC is operationally integrated at every level with the medical school and at varying levels with the other health sciences schools. UPMC has re-structured physician compensation to reward value—not volume—and to take the burden of relative value unit production off the physicians. Today, Pitt and UPMC continue to lead the nation in focusing on population health and value, and as they succeed over the next several years, they will chart the future of health care.

The University of Pittsburgh seeks a senior vice chancellor and dean who will inspire intellectual invention in every aspect of the missions of the health sciences schools. The SVC/dean must ensure that Pitt advances educational excellence and retains its place as an eminent home for basic science, stewarding the talent at Pitt, recruiting talent, and carefully curating the most promising fundamental research. Simultaneously, the SVC/dean must drive innovation with UPMC—incentivizing and encouraging the most promising clinical science and translational work that can be pioneered in the system or transformed into large research or commercial initiatives. In education, students should emerge prepared for the new frontiers in health by operating in interprofessional teams and focusing on the value of care. The SVC/dean will aid the full transition from volume to value with the crucial aim of improving health while reducing cost.

The university has a rare role to offer. There is no other setting, so clearly on the frontier, filled with both risk and promise. Pitt faculty and staff—with their partners—will incubate the future and deliver care in the present. The SVC/dean will join a highly experienced and talented group of leaders on an exciting trajectory of success, with the possibility of lasting, fundamental change in how we imagine human health.

Pitt has engaged Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in the search. All nominations and applications should be sent in confidence to: John Isaacson (jisaacson@imsearch.com), Ariannah Mirick (amirick@imsearch.com), Stephanie Fidel (sfidel@imsearch.com) or Randi Alberry (ralberry@imsearch.com). Electronic submission strongly recommended at www.imsearch.com/7093 University of Pittsburgh considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, an individual’s sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does University of Pittsburgh discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. EEO/A/M/F/Vets/Disabled