President Steven Knapp and Provost Steve Lerman announced the George Washington University Medical Center’s new interim leadership team Thursday during a town hall meeting in GW’s Ross Hall.
Jeffrey S. Akman, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, will serve as interim dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and vice provost for health affairs. Vincent A. Chiappinelli, the Ralph E. Loewy professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, will serve as interim associate dean of the SMHS and associate vice provost for health affairs.
“This is an exciting time. Change is always anxiety producing but it is also a great time for opportunity. This is a time to move forward, not back,” said Dr. Lerman.
In addition to being a graduate of SMHS, Dr. Akman, M.D. ’81, completed his residency at GW. A SMHS faculty member for 25 years, Dr. Akman has chaired the Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences for the past 10 years where he leads more than 300 faculty members, oversees the department’s clinical practice of general adult psychiatry and serves as chief of the psychiatry service of the GW Hospital.
“I really care deeply about this institution. While it’s been a whirlwind these past few days, the reality is I feel like I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” said Dr. Akman. “I’m enthusiastic and looking forward to the challenges.”
Dr. Akman, a recipient of the school’s Distinguished Teacher Award, has directed and taught all of the major psychiatry and behavioral sciences courses for GW medical and health sciences students as well as serving as a mentor for hundreds of students and residents. He was inducted into the school’s Society of Distinguished Teachers in 1998. He has received the Physician Humanism Award from the GW Chapter of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Dr. Chiappinelli has received international recognition for his research on nicotine and its effects on synaptic transmission in the brain. The National Institutes of Health has funded his research for more than two decades.
The multiphase review was requested last May by the Medical Center Committee of the Board of Trustees in view of the approaching 10th anniversary of the creation of the center’s current structure, the changing conditions of the health care marketplace as a result of local competition and health care reform legislation, and the university’s commitment to raising the center’s academic stature.
“It’s important to realize this is not a response to a crisis that’s either financial or academic,” said Dr. Knapp. “It’s about taking charge of our future and our institution.”
The second phase of the review, to be completed by the end of the spring semester, will be guided by recommendations developed by a team of independent experts from BDC Advisors, who have completed an organizational assessment based on more than 30 interviews with stakeholders.
At Dr. Knapp’s request, Dr. Lerman has formed an advisory committee to facilitate the phase two review process. The advisory committee will continue to meet throughout the review process.
Dr. Akman will step down as chair of the psychiatry department while he serves as interim dean but will maintain his clinical practice. An interim psychiatry department chair will be named soon. Dr. Akman will assume his new leadership role Jan. 3 and will provide leadership for the Medical Center until permanent leadership is identified through a nationwide search.
Astra Bain-Dowell, who currently serves as associate vice president for Medical Center resource management, will serve as associate vice provost for Medical Center operations. Melanie Gehen, who currently serves as associate vice president for health economics, will serve as associate vice provost for Medical Center finances.