Dear Colleagues-Friends,

As previously stated, we have strategically awaited the excellent results of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation for our College of Medicine before considering a search for the next Executive Dean. With that accomplished, as well as the successful completion of other high-profile administrative searches for our Dean of the College of Dentistry and our Vice Chancellor for Research, and the start of a new school year quickly approaching, the time is right to officially launch the search.

We are very grateful for Dr. Nick Verne's tremendous support during this interim period. His capable leadership has steadily guided the College of Medicine forward. The college has recruited several outstanding new department chairs and received multiple new grant awards for exciting and meaningful research. The college has successfully engaged the support of alumni, community leaders, and the state legislature in our vital pursuit of better health for all Tennesseans. We are grateful for the legislative support of $29.6 million for a new Gross Anatomy Lab that will enable us to build a state-of-the-art facility to train our state's future physician workforce. All of this and more positions our College of Medicine for its exciting next chapter.

Search Committee

A search committee has been established, with each member accepting this great responsibility. Multiple considerations have gone into the selection of the search committee:

our statewide presence
College of Medicine's Office of the Dean
educational, research, and clinical priorities
hospital partners
alumni
community partners

We are appreciative of this broad and representative group of leaders who have enthusiastically agreed to serve on the Executive Dean for the College of Medicine search committee:

Dr. Reginald Frye, Dean, College of Pharmacy (co-chair)
Raaj Kurapati, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer (co-chair)
Dr. Kristen Bettin, Senior Assistant Dean of Clinical Curriculum, College of Medicine
Dr. Mary Billstrand, Department Chair of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine and Chief of Anesthesiology Services, Regional One Health
Elizabeth Dang, President of M2 class and medical student representative
Kelly Davis, Senior Director of Development, College of Medicine
Dr. Alex Dopico, Department Chair of Pharmacology, Addiction Science, and Toxicology, College of Medicine
Dr. Trey Eubanks, President, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine
Dr. Bruce Keisling, Executive Director, Center on Developmental Disabilities and Herbert A. Shainberg Professor in Developmental Pediatrics, College of Medicine
Paul J. Koltnow, Director of Admissions for Physician Assistant Program, College of Medicine and Faculty Senate President
Crystal Maddox, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration, College of Medicine-Chattanooga
Dr. Ryan Mire, Alumni Council representative
Ms. Robyn Morrissey, Chief Strategy Officer, Ascension Saint Thomas
Dr. James Neutens, Community Advisory Board and Knoxville Campus representative
Dr. Altha Stewart, Senior Associate Dean for Community Health Engagement, College of Medicine
Rory Thomas, President, Memphis Medical District Collaborative

We are thankful for Dean Frye and EVC Kurapati's willingness to co-chair this committee, and for such a wonderful committee willing to assist with this important search. Melissa Norris, executive administrative aide, will be providing administrative assistance to the search. Please be respectful of the role of the search committee and the confidentiality these members are bound to uphold during – and after – this process.

Search Firm

We have engaged a national executive search firm, Isaacson, Miller , with lead consultants Stephanie Fidel, Jamie Sands, and Nick Strand to assist with this search. They will be highly engaged throughout the process as they work to find the best fit for this role. Please be aware they will be reaching out with surveys, town halls, and various meetings to ensure this is an institutional search with multiple opportunities for input from the College of Medicine along the way.

Next Steps

This will be a transparent, well-run national search, open to both internal and external candidates. We anticipate the process from today's launch until a successful candidate is announced could take upwards of six months. As the search firm works diligently to gather input from you all and others to build a desirable candidate profile, please send any names of recommendations – internal or external – for this role directly to Dean Frye (rfrye7@uthsc.edu) and EVC Kurapati (rkurapat@uthsc.edu).

The Executive Dean is a highly respected position and an excellent opportunity that will attract the attention of talented leaders in academic medicine across the country. We will keep you apprised of the search as it proceeds.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Office of the Chancellor