UVA Neurology: Chair, Department of Neurology

UVA Health is an academic health system that strives to provide excellence, innovation, and exceptional quality to the care of patients, the training of health professionals, and the creation and sharing of knowledge within a culture that promotes equity, diversity, and inclusivity. UVA Health is an expansive network comprised of the UVA Medical Center, UVA Community Hospitals, UVA Community Medical Group, UVA School of Nursing, UVA School of Medicine (SOM), University of Virginia Physicians Group, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, and other strategic partnerships and alliances.

In September 2021, Dr. Melina Kibbe began her tenure as Dean of the School of Medicine and Chief Health Affairs Officer. With this new leadership, the UVA School of Medicine is undertaking new directions in all four missions, including clinical strategy and growth, expansion of research in collaboration with other UVA schools, the promotion of educational programs of the highest caliber, and developing partnerships within the community.

The University of Virginia is seeking an exceptional clinician-educator, or clinician-scientist, and leader capable of shaping a compelling vision for the Department of Neurology. This position represents an exciting opportunity to lead a complex, vibrant, and growing department in a prominent institution that is highly respected for its research, clinical quality, education, and mission orientation. UVA has initiated this national search in partnership with Spencer Stuart. The Chair of the Department of Neurology will be an aspirational leader, responsible for the alignment of strategic priorities, execution, and operations of the clinical, education, research, and service missions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR OF NEUROLOGY

• Ensure and imbue a culture of respect, civility, and trust within the department;
• Prioritize the enhancement of a culture of inclusion, diversity and equity and promote cultural competence within all aspects of the department and the institution;
• Demonstrate they care about and truly understand the importance and value of the faculty, trainees, and staff;
• Invest in and support the well-being and success of all members of the department;
• Be an exemplar of the ASPIRE values and a consensus builder;
• Provide strategic leadership for and collaboration with all neurology services, including its subspecialties;
• Provide visionary, inclusive, and innovative leadership, while listening well and communicating effectively, to help the department thrive and prosper in its clinical, educational, research, and service missions;
• Recruit, retain and develop excellent faculty and administrative staff representing the diversity of talent (including women and those traditionally under-represented in medicine) available in neurology, and support them in their local, regional, and national leadership positions, and/or professional development opportunities;
• Oversee the neurology services for UVA Health;
• Partner with the UVA Community Medical Group in support of their missions relevant to neurology services and strategize for future opportunities for collaboration;
• Provide vision for how to manage and care for the complex neurological issues of the people of Central, Southwest, and Northern Virginia;
• Be a good steward of the department’s and institution’s human, financial, space, equipment, and technical resources;
• Promote outstanding clinical care that is of value to the community by ensuring the delivery of timely and high-quality care that is compassionate, evidence-based, and safe;
• Work closely and collaboratively with the leadership to build, grow, and integrate areas of the faculty’s clinical expertise in a value-based fashion that results in excellent patient outcomes and positive patient satisfaction evaluations;
• Assure delivery of excellent education while advancing the knowledge and professional growth of medical students, residents, and fellows as well as technologists, nurses, advanced practice providers, clinical research coordinators and support, and administrative staff;
• Provide leadership and oversight for the residency and fellowship programs, as well as the medical student rotations, and graduate student programs within the department;

• Recruit top-tier residents and fellows who also want to contribute to a culture of respect, inclusion, and the advancement of the department’s academic missions;
• Together with the SOM dean and department faculty, define and lead the department’s research strategy to drive innovation in Neurologic care and delivery, technology expansion, and evaluation of novel therapeutic agents to treat disease;
• Recruit, develop, and retain principal investigators and other faculty to the department, and support their efforts to secure extramural grants in pursuit of departmental, and institutional research priorities;
• Ensure a deliberate, and priority-driven investment into research, educational, and clinical activities for the department, and institution;
• Expand the department’s participation in extramurally funded clinical trials and basic research initiatives;
• Supervise and partner with the department Administrative, School of Medicine and University Physician Groups’ teams to prepare, implement, and monitor a department budget that encompasses all funding sources and ensures compliance with grant, legislative, and institutional guidelines;
• Build on the department’s endowment and efforts to expand the pathway for under-represented groups in medicine into its residency program;
• Ensure ethical, medical, and financial practices and reconciliation processes;
• Support and encourage timely completion of compliance activities as necessary; and
• Partner with the Dean’s office and the Medical Alumni Foundation to cultivate philanthropic support.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

• Foundational leadership roles in academic health care
  Service as a chair, vice chair, division chief, or in a similar executive role with a record of developing clinical and scholastic programs, advancing the careers and achievement of faculty, other providers, and staff, and leading the educational activities of students, residents, and fellows.

• Clinical leadership
  Success managing complex clinical programs focused on access, quality, patient satisfaction, and provide support.

• Operational management
  Financial and administrative acumen, with knowledge of the complex financial pressures facing academic medical centers and health care delivery organizations. Experience at outreach and management of outpatient clinical areas is additive.

• Personal scholarship and work in support of others
  A record of academic accomplishments as reflected in publications, research funding, and national and international society service. Demonstrated contributions to research success is expected, and a track record of research mentoring is desired.

• Recruitment and lived commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
  Candidates should have enthusiasm for and experience in acting as an institutional agent to recruit and retain outstanding faculty, staff, and trainees, and have demonstrated a drive to advance racial equity and address healthcare disparities.