UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has launched a national search to identify a permanent dean for its College of Medicine.
The position is currently held by Dr. Kevin Black, who has served as interim dean of the College of Medicine since 2019, when the University made the dean of the college and the CEO of the Penn State Health enterprise two separate leadership positions.
The ideal candidate will be a collaborative, authentic and inspirational leader who will work closely with Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz, as well as with department chairs, faculty, staff, students, alumni and leadership across Penn State and within Penn State Health. The new dean will lead the College of Medicine in furthering its education, research and clinical missions. Candidates will quickly recognize a strong culture of innovation and team-based interdisciplinary collaborations across the University and the College of Medicine. Advancement of that collaborative culture side by side with continued achievement in furthering the college’s missions is expected under the next dean.
The University Board of Trustees and the Penn State Health Board of Directors established the dean of the College of Medicine and the CEO of Penn State Health as two distinct roles to facilitate the ongoing growth and administrative demands of the college and the growing clinical enterprise. While serving as the college’s chief executive, the dean will play a major role in shaping the clinical environment of the health system in collaboration with the Penn State Health CEO and will help to advance important new and continuing initiatives with the University’s other health science colleges.
To that end, the dean will serve as a director ex officio of the Penn State Health board and as a member of the board’s finance committee. In addition, the dean will serve as the physician-in-chief of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. In these roles, the dean will be responsible for appointing department chairs and other leaders of clinical programs at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, participating in budget and strategic plan development, and supporting physician staffing and compensation decisions for Penn State Health in collaboration with the Penn State Health CEO.
In cooperation with the Penn State Health CEO, the dean also will be responsible for appointing the physician president of the Penn State Health Medical Group and other important clinical leadership positions at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Health. Within the University, the College of Medicine dean, in addition to serving on the President's Council, the Academic Leadership Council, and the Council of Academic Deans, will serve as co-chair of the University Health Sciences Council to advance the college’s and the University’s research portfolio and interdisciplinary education programs in biomedical and health sciences.
Reporting to the provost and with a dotted line report to the president, the dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Medicine and sets the vision for the college's continuing evolution. This will include empowering department chairs, other leaders, faculty, staff and students to advance the educational programs; strategically growing the research portfolio (basic, translational, clinical and population health); ensuring cutting-edge primary and subspecialty clinical care; actively engaging in the community; and continuing to invest in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
The new dean will be an experienced leader with a strong national reputation in academic medicine and superior communication and relationship-building skills. Financial acumen, well developed management skills, capacity to engage donors, and the ability to recruit top-caliber research faculty and staff are requisites. The successful candidate will have a commitment to academic excellence, innovative research, prudent financial management, and the highest level of personal integrity and ethical standards, with an ability to substantially advance diversity, cultural competency and equity. Qualified candidates must have an MD, MD/PhD or equivalent medical degree, board certification in the candidate's specialty/discipline, a demonstrated history of research accomplishments, and academic credentials that would warrant appointment as a tenured, full professor.
The Penn State College of Medicine was established in 1963 with a $50 million gift and real estate provided by the Milton S. Hershey Foundation. Today, the college has more than 1,300 faculty, over 1,700 full- and part-time staff, an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students (medical, physician assistant, graduate and nursing), and approximately 560 resident trainees and 130 fellows are part of the learning community on the Hershey campus. The college’s total operating budget in the current fiscal year is $429 million with total research funding of $143 million.
Penn State College of Medicine and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center have served as central Pennsylvania’s preeminent university medical center and medical school. Together, they have played a prominent role in meeting the region’s needs for tertiary and quaternary care and have served as one of the region’s largest employers and economic drivers. Amidst a rapidly changing health care landscape, the organization has transformed itself into a comprehensive university health system, with the College of Medicine and Penn State Health working synergistically to capitalize on opportunities for growth. Penn State Health includes primary, specialty and acute care locations across the region. Among the core goals of the health care enterprise is ensuring patients receive high-quality, accessible, cost-effective care in their communities. While Milton S. Hershey Medical Center continues to serve as the system’s academic hub and flagship hospital, patients and learners alike have additional access to care and education in Penn State Health’s communities, with new opportunities to conduct research and learn as the health system expands.
All nominations and CVs for the position should be directed to Kimberly Smith, Linda Komnick, Dr. Tony Barbato or Kerry Quealy at PSCOM_Dean@wittkieffer.com.