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FOR IMMEDIATE USE

Dec. 11, 2009

 

UT Committee Begins Search for New UT Health Science Center Chancellor

 

KNOXVILLE -- A committee to direct the search for the next chancellor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has been established and is set to begin work at its first meeting Dec. 18.

 

An external consultant will be hired to work with the committee to recruit candidates, narrow the candidate field and vet candidates. The University is currently conducting a request for proposals to select the consultant.

 

The new chancellor will serve as chief administrative officer of the UTHSC campus in Memphis and its satellite locations in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Jackson and elsewhere in the state. UTHSC enrolls more than 2,700 students and has more than 4,000 employees.

 

Partnerships UTHSC has across the state involve health care providers such as Methodist University Hospital, Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, University Health System (Knoxville), Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga), Baptist Memorial Health System, West Tennessee Health Care (Jackson), St. Francis Hospital, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Memphis. The Health Science Center also has affiliations with Memphis Bioworks Foundation and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 

"The University is eager to find a highly qualified and dynamic individual to lead the Health Science Center during this critical time and beyond," Interim UT President Jan Simek said. "The chancellor will help the University pursue its goal of increasing UTHSC's research efforts and continuing to improve upon providing the best training and education for the health care professionals in Tennessee."

 

The chancellor will replace Hershel P. Wall, who served in that role from 2007 to Sept. 30, 2009. Steve Schwab, executive dean for the UT College of Medicine, has been named interim chancellor.

 

The search committee's first meeting will be at 2:30 p.m., Dec. 18, at the Health Science Center in 101 Hyman Building, 62 South Dunlap St., Memphis.

 

Simek has appointed William Evans, director and chief executive officer of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Linda Hendricks, chief human resources officer for the UT System, as co-chairs of the committee.

 

The committee's other 18 members are:

·        Kennard D. Brown, UTHSC executive vice chancellor and chief of staff

·        Phillip Burns, chair UTHSC College of Medicine, Chattanooga

·        George Cates, UT trustee

·        Barbara Connolly, interim dean, College of Allied Health Science

·        James Eason, professor of surgery and program director of the Methodist University Hospital (MUH) Transplant Institute

·        Dick R. Gourley, dean, College of Pharmacy

·        Monice Hagler, UT trustee

·        Margaret (Peg) Hartig, department chair, College of Nursing

·        Timothy Hottel, dean, College of Dentistry

·        J.R. (Pitt) Hyde, CEO, J.R. Hyde III Family Foundations

·        Robert Kaplan, dermatologist, assistant professor, UTHSC alumnus

·        Joseph R. Landsman Jr., president and CEO, UT Medical Center, Knoxville

·        Melaina Perry, UTHSC SGA president

·        Karl Schledwitz, UT trustee

·        Gary Shorb, president and CEO, Methodist Healthcare Foundation

·        Lacey Smith, interim dean, College of Medicine

·        Cheryl C. Stegbauer, associate dean, College of Nursing

·        Parker D. Suttle, president, UTHSC Faculty Senate

For more information about UTHSC, visit http://www.uthsc.edu/.

 

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Contacts:

 

Elizabeth Davis, (865) 974-5179, elizabeth.davis@tennessee.edu

 

Sheila Champlin, (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

 

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