By Kyle Winslow
On Aug. 18, the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine named Duke University administrator, Doctor Edward Halperin, its new dean.
This announcement ended a nearly year-long hunt to fill the position left by former dean Laura Schweitzer.
Halperin comes to U of L after serving as an administrator at the Duke University School of Medicine. That distinction is what makes Halperin so important to U of L, said Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing John Drees.
Dr. Larry Cook, executive vice president for health affairs, headed the search committee, which was composed of numerous individuals from the university and the community. The committee was responsible for formatting the job description and advertising it in national publications and through professional search firms.
In some cases though, there were talented people who may not be presently searching for a new job. This was one way that U of L benefits from its large faculty. “We also utilize individual faculty members and persons at the university who through their professional career have met individuals who they think would be ideal [for the position],” said Ramsey.
“The process is very much like Coach [Rick] Pitino recruiting top basketball players,” Ramsey said. “We want to identify the very best players, or in this case, the very best dean candidates, and encourage them to apply for our position where otherwise they might not apply to an ad.”
After the applications were reviewed, and interviews were conducted, the search for the dean was narrowed down to four finalists. “Dr. Halperin emerged as the leading candidate,” said Ramsey. “He impressed everyone on the search committee and those he met on campus with his strong academic credentials, strong clinical record, strong administrative record, strong research record, and his ability to help us continue building our research excellence and expertise. And his ability to fit in to our campus community and culture,” continued Ramsey.
Dr. Halperin is definitely qualified with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, a Master of Arts degree from Duke University, and a doctor of medicine degree from Yale University. Ellen Degraffenreid, director of communication and marketing for Health Sciences, said Halperin’s experiences are, “very balanced across teaching research and clinical care. He has great expertise on what curriculum should be taught to students in order for them to pass the board and succeed in their careers.”
According to the press report on U of L’s website, Halperin also performed an internship in internal medicine at Stanford University, and a residency in radiation medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. At Duke, he oversaw graduate programs in medicine, physical therapy, and health sciences. Dr. Halperin also had an impact in improving Duke’s research ranking by the National Institute of Health.
U of L already has an outstanding research program, and the addition of Halperin will only make it better. According to Degraffenreid, “the University of Louisville School of Medicine is one of the fastest growing in the country, as far as National Institute of Health funding, receiving $41.5 million in grants in the 2004-2005 calendar year.” Degraffenreid also noted that, “Dr. Halperin is a practicing physician in pediatric radiation oncology, and that he will continue to practice at U of L’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center.”
Dr. Halperin has yet to be approved by the Board of Trustees, but he is expected to begin his post at U of L’s School of Medicine on Nov. 1.
