AUSTIN – Candidates for the position of president of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will begin campus visits the week of April 9. The candidates will meet with student, faculty, staff and community representatives as part of the interview process authorized by the UT System Board of Regents.
The four candidates who will visit the campus are:
- David L. Callender, M.D., associate vice chancellor and chief executive officer of the UCLA Hospital System in Los Angeles. Dr. Callender also is an adjunct professor of surgery at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and is a member of the governing board of the University Health Consortium. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University, a medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston.
- Arthur L. Kellermann, M.D., professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta. Dr. Kellermann also is on the faculty of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. He serves on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., a medical degree from Emory’s School of Medicine and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington.
- David G. Nichols, M.D., vice dean for education at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Nichols also is a professor of anesthesiology/critical care medicine and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins. He serves on the Anesthetics Advisory Committee of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education.
- Courtney M. Townsend, JR., M.D., chair and professor of the Department of Surgery, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Townsend also is a professor of physician’s assistant studies at UTMB’s School of Allied Health Sciences. He is a former president of the American Pancreatic Association and the Southern Surgical Association, and currently serves as chair of the American Board of Surgery. He holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a medical degree from UTMB.
“The Board of Regents is pleased that these four exceptional candidates will have an opportunity to visit UTMB and meet with the campus community as the search for the president of this great institution enters its final stages,” said Regents’ Chairman James R. Huffines. “Each candidate has a demonstrated track record and background in academic medicine, administration and research.”
Following the campus visits, the Board of Regents will interview the candidates at a special called meeting of the board scheduled for April 16. The board could then name finalists or a finalist for the position.
Under state law, university governing boards must name finalists for a presidency at least 21 days before making an appointment.
UTMB is dedicated to educating health science professionals and researchers, caring for patients, and advancing human health through research. Established in 1891 as the University of Texas Medical Department, UTMB has grown from one building, 23 students, and 13 faculty members to a modern health science center with more than 70 major buildings, more than 2,900 students and house staff, and more than 1,000 faculty.
The 84-acre campus includes four health sciences schools, three institutes for advanced study, a major medical library, a network of hospitals and clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care, an affiliated Shriners Burn Hospital, and numerous research facilities that include the only full-sized maximum containment laboratory for the safe study of infectious diseases. In addition, UTMB is home to one of only two national biocontainment laboratories – and the only national lab in Texas – currently under construction.
UTMB is one of six health institutions and nine academic institutions that comprise The University of Texas System, one of the nation’s largest higher education systems. The UT System educates and trains three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually and confers one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $10 billion and has more than 76,000 employees, making it one of the largest employers in the state.
