UT Austin prepared to begin search for medical school dean

AUSTIN – The University of Texas at Austin is poised to begin the search process for a dean for the Dell School of Medicine, UT Austin President Bill Powers said during a report to the Board of Regents today.

 “We have a steering committee about ready to appoint a dean search committee,” he said. “We think this will be a very attractive position.”

 Now that major funding sources for the medical school have been secured, “we’re in the phase of actually getting it done,” he said.

Regents gave preliminary approval to ask The Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize a Doctor of Medicine degree at the new medical school. If approved, it would be the first time in several decades that a doctoral program in medicine would be initiated at a major research university.

In addition to degree approval, UT Austin is starting to build the first phase of the medical school’s infrastructure so that it’s in place by the time the dean is appointed. Some offices like communications and development can be established now, while others – such as curriculum – need to wait until after the dean is appointed, Powers said.

A location for the medical school has not been selected yet, but a site near the University Medical Center Brackenridge is being discussed.

The first students are expected to graduate from the medical school in 2020.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking 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 nine academic universities, six health institutions and a fall 2012 enrollment of roughly 216,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state’s health care professionals annually. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.9 billion (FY 2013) including $3.1 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.