After a months-long search and the vetting of dozens of candidates, UVA now has a new leader of its Health System. Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Craig Kent, MD, stepped into the leadership role on Feb. 1, 2020.
In a letter to faculty and staff, UVA President Jim Ryan shared some of the feedback the search committee received from others in the field that reinforced Kent’s reputation as an esteemed leader and colleague.
Ryan writes: “As part of the search process, we spoke with national leaders in academic medicine, as well as people who have known and worked with Dr. Kent for years. They described Dr. Kent’s integrity, his ability to generate a sense of trust, his capacity to be both visionary and strategic, his skill at recruiting faculty, and his boundless energy. Some simply described him as the best leader they had ever worked with, while nearly all described him as their hardest working colleague.”
Kent, an internationally recognized vascular surgeon, comes to UVA from Ohio State University, where he served as the dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences. Kent will now oversee and lead all UVA Health operations, which means he will have a hand in every aspect of academic medicine, including clinical care, research education and community outreach.
In a recent article published on UVA Today, Kent discussed his qualifications and professional journey, as well as his goals for the future of UVA Health. One: continue caring for the community surrounding the University, in Charlottesville and beyond. Two: be better equipped to meet the growing demand for the advanced care UVA provides.
“Because our team provides such extraordinary health care, and there is so much demand, our hospitals and clinics are often full,” he says. “It is our obligation to solve this problem, and to find ways to make our services more accessible.”