Pitt seeks community input in search for med school dean

When Arthur Levine announced in January that he would step down from his role as senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, he said he would remain in the position until a replacement was found. This summer, the search has begun in earnest, and the University is seeking feedback from the Pitt community for aid in finding the best candidate.

The search committee, chaired by Provost Ann Cudd, will hold a total of three open forums seeking input from University affiliates. In addition, the committee has created an online survey for Pitt community members to share their feedback on the search. The survey gives respondents the chance to nominate specific candidates, or offer qualities they would like to see in the person chosen.

Pitt filled another soon-to-be empty seat, at least temporarily, last week when Provost Cudd named Audrey Murrell, a College of Business Administration official, acting dean of the honors college.

The first open forum for the next School of Medicine dean, held Tuesday at the Graduate School of Public Health, was streamed live here. The next forum will be held Wednesday, June 12, at 11 a.m., and the last will be held Friday, June 21, at 8 a.m. Both will take place in Lecture Room 6 of Scaife Hall.

Levine worked in the School of Medicine for more than 20 years. When he announced his retirement from the position of the school’s dean and senior vice chancellor, Levine had the highest base salary of any University official — $891,667 in 2019. He has already begun transitioning to a new passion project, an Alzheimer’s research laboratory in Pitt’s Brain Institute.

At the time of the announcement, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher commended Levine for his achievements as head of the medical school, including significant additions to the curriculum and the creation of several departments within the school.

“It’s difficult to overstate the remarkable impact that Art has had on the University of Pittsburgh, our School of Medicine, our health sciences programs and UPMC,” Gallagher said in a press release at the time. “His commitment to research and academic excellence is unparalleled and has fueled our University’s unprecedented rise as a leader in leveraging knowledge for society’s gain.”