UT MD Anderson Presidential Search Advisory Committee named

AUSTIN— A committee to advise The University of Texas System Board of Regents on the selection of a president for UT MD Anderson Cancer Center was announced today by Regents’ Chairman Paul L. Foster.

The MD Anderson presidential search advisory committee will make recommendations on possible successors to Ron DePinho, M.D., who stepped down as president in March.

The search advisory committee will be asked to present names of potential candidates to the board, which will make the final decision. Committee members were selected in accordance with the Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations, which include a provision for representation on such committees by various constituencies of the institution.

“MD Anderson is our nation’s most effective force for fighting cancer and finding better cures and treatments; selecting the next president of this great institution will be one of the most important decisions the Board of Regents makes this year,” Foster said. “The search advisory committee, with its diverse array of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives will play a critical role in vetting candidates for the Board of Regents. We very much appreciate their time and service and look forward to receiving the committee’s recommendations.”

Representation includes:

• Chair of the committee (Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., UT System executive vice chancellor for health affairs)
   
• Board of Regents (Regent David Beck and Regent Janiece Longoria)  
   
• Presidents of other UT System institutions (Daniel Podolsky, M.D., president of UT Southwestern, and Michael Tidwell, Ph.D., president of UT Tyler)
   
• MD Anderson dean, faculty and student (Borje Andersson, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation; Michelle Barton, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Osama Mawlawi, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Imaging Physics; George Perkins, M.D., chief medical officer and medical director for Physician Referral Service; and Erin Williams, doctoral student in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences)
   
• MD Anderson staff and alumni (Tania Secrest, division administrator in the Vice Provost for Science Office, and Peter Hu, Ph.D., director of the Graduate Program in Diagnostic Genetics and representative of the alumni association)
   
• External and community members (Scott Caven, former chairman of the UT System Board of Regents and managing director at Atlantic Trust; Harry Longwell, past chair and senior member of the MD Anderson Board of Visitors; Courtney Johnson Rose, principal broker with George E. Johnson Properties; Richard Ruiz, M.D., founding chairman and John S. Dunn Distinguished University Chair in Ophthalmology at UTHealth in Houston; Marsha McCombs Shields, chair-elect of the UT MD Anderson Board of Visitors and managing partner with McCombs Family Partners; and Robert Stillwell, former member of the UT System Board of Regents)

The committee will aim to recommend top candidates to the Regents by the end of 2017. Marshall Hicks, M.D., will continue serving as interim president of MD Anderson until a successor is named.

The UT System will establish a website to provide information regarding the search, including a timeline, and will provide an opportunity for members of the public to privately submit nominations for the next president of MD Anderson. The website will be publicized as soon as it is operational.

Phillips DiPisa, a national firm that specializes in recruiting health care executives, is assisting the UT System in the national search.

About The University of Texas System
Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 228,000 students, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates approximately two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System’s operating budget for FY 2017 is $17.9 billion, including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and many members of the National Academies – and nearly 80,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.