Announcing the Search Advisory Committee for the next EVP for Health Affairs

Dear all in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and Emory Healthcare community: 

I am pleased to announce the Search Advisory Committee for Emory’s next executive vice president for health affairs (EVPHA). The members represent a wide range of disciplines and specialties from across the Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC). I am chairing the committee so I can engage directly throughout the search process—gathering feedback on this important leadership position for Emory. In addition, I am glad that John Rice—Emory University trustee and chair of the Woodruff Health Sciences Committee—has agreed to serve on the advisory committee.

Emory has retained Ilene H. Nagel of Education Executives, LLC to work with the advisory committee as it identifies a pool of outstanding, diverse candidates. Information about the search, along with an opportunity to provide your thoughts about the next EVPHA, including nominations, is available on the search website.

I want to thank Dr. Jonathan S. Lewin for his extraordinary leadership during the past six years. Dr. Lewin has set a very high bar, overseeing record growth in clinical volumes, research funding, and patient quality outcomes. He led an unparalleled expansion of Emory Healthcare, with annual operating revenue increasing more than 80% to $5.5 billion since 2016. And under Dr. Lewin’s direction, philanthropic support to the health sciences at Emory has more than doubled to in excess of $300 million annually, and health sciences research increased 57% to more than $800 million in 2021.

When the next EVPHA begins at Emory, Dr. Lewin will take a well-deserved leave before returning to the faculty in the Department of Radiology in the School of Medicine. Currently, Dr. Lewin is both EVPHA and CEO of Emory Healthcare. Emory Healthcare will continue to be an integral part of the WHSC, but the CEO will be a separate position, reporting directly to the next EVPHA. I hope to have an outstanding EVPHA in place by early summer, at which point Dane Peterson, president and chief operating officer of Emory Healthcare, will become the Interim CEO. Dane is an experienced leader whose many accomplishments across Emory Healthcare have prepared him to take on this critical role. The search for the permanent CEO of Emory Healthcare will be announced later this year.

I want to conclude by recognizing the physicians, nurses, and medical staff throughout Emory Healthcare and the WHSC who have stepped up to selflessly serve amid yet another COVID-19 surge. The pandemic has been relentless, but so have you!

Your courage and commitment have empowered Emory to meet every challenge and save lives. Meanwhile, our faculty, scientists, and researchers have allowed nothing to stand in the way of their mission to educate a new generation of health professionals and conduct life-changing research. Thank you all for your dedication to the health of your patients and our community.

Sincerely, 

Gregory L. Fenves
President