Vice Chairs

The Executive Vice Chair is tasked with overseeing the Vice Chairs. He thinks strategically about the Department’s initiatives, special projects and progress toward stated metrics. The Executive Vice Chair provides general advice and guidance to the Chair on both department- and institution-level strategy, including how best to align with and serve the institutional mission.

The Vice Chair for Surgical Oncology advises and supports all aspects of the department’s vision as it relates to surgical oncology, serve as the department-wide lead for operations and strategy supporting our surgical oncology programs. He represents the department in interactions with the Cancer Center in partnering (e.g., with ACCC for Surgical Oncology) to achieve institutional goals of improving the delivery of cancer care, including externally facing strategic programs including outreach and network relationships.  And he fosters the basic science research programs within surgical oncology, including assisting the chair, section head, and division chiefs in recruitment, retention, and ensuring the success of existing faculty.

The Vice Chair of Clinical Operations leads improvements in patient access to care with the goal of meeting metrics set forth by the University of Michigan Medical Group. Specifically, these efforts are focused on the use of telehealth and other uses of technology to deliver high quality care to remote patients, improving patient experience and outcomes.

The Vice Chair of Inpatient Care Alignment leads efforts to maximize the efficiency of patient care delivery as outlined by the UMMG Group Performance Measure Memorandum of Understanding (Performance Measure 3). This includes leveraging the available dashboards and reporting tools to understand the current state, working with section heads and administrators to develop strategies for achieving the metrics, implementation of those strategies and dissemination of best practices across the institution as appropriate.

The Vice Chair of Faculty Life is charged with general oversight of the Michigan Promise in partnership with the Vice chair of Faculty Development. In additional to the administrative oversight, she works with the Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and the other faculty leads, to provide leadership, vision and general direction to the Michigan Promise in the execution of its mission. This includes gauging the changing development needs of our faculty and developing the programmatic content to address those needs. 

The Vice Chair for Resident Mentorship works with resident program directors and center directors to maximize the mentorship experience for the trainees in the Department of Surgery. He assists the residents in selecting a “major” and a “minor” for their academic development time. This role is resident-facing with a broad focus on leading efforts to recruit residents to our programs and helping residents find mentorship.

The Vice Chair of Basic Science Research is charged with general oversight of the basic science community, including fostering a sense of community, supporting collaborations, mentoring, and working closely with the Surgery Research Office to deliver effective administrative support. She also works closely with other Vice Chairs to coordinate and create well-defined resident scientific development pathways in basic and translational science.

The Vice Chair of Strategy and Finance oversees operating room cost reduction initiatives, as well as overseeing other special projects in finance. This includes ensuring the efficient use of allotted operating room time, the policies and processes surrounding scheduling, and optimizing site of care.

The Vice Chair of Clinic Utilization is responsible for leading efforts to ensure efficiency within clinics as outlined by the UMMG Group Performance Measure Memorandum of Understanding (Performance Measure 5). This includes leveraging the available dashboards and reporting tools to understand the current state, working with section heads and administrators to develop strategies for achieving the metrics, implementation of those strategies and dissemination of best practices across the institution as appropriate.

The Vice Chair of Education is charged with general oversight of our educational programs. This includes working to support the program directors and clerkship director; ensuring that all of our programs are being delivered in line with both departmental and GME standards. He facilitates consistency and coordination in our annual recruitment efforts, providing continued guidance as best practices for virtual recruitment evolve and/or transition back to in-person. He works closely with program directors across the institution and the Office of General Medical Education on cross-departmental initiatives related to the education of our trainees. He also oversees the activities of the Surgery Education Office.

The Vice Chair of Faculty Development is charged with general oversight of the Michigan Promise in partnership with the Vice Chair of Faculty Life. In additional to the administrative oversight, she works with the Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and the other faculty leads, to provide leadership, vision and general direction to the Michigan Promise in the execution of its mission. This includes gauging the culture and climate of the department and developing the programmatic content to steer the community.

The Vice Chair of Resident Life implements and oversees initiatives related to the development and wellbeing of the residents within the Department of Surgery. She coordinates with the Vice Chair of Faculty Development, the Vice Chair of Faculty Life, the Vice Chair of Resident Mentorship, the Vice Chair of Basic Science and the Vice Chair of Health Services Research as necessary to carry out the goal of helping residents reach their full potential as surgeon scientists and leaders.

The Vice Chair for Quality and Safety is charged with oversight of the clinical operations from a quality and safety perspective. She serves as the liaison between the Department and the Office of Clinical Affairs for safety incidents. Using both outcomes and process data, the Vice Chair for Quality and Safety identifies areas to improve patient safety and lead patient-safety-centered initiatives.

Business intelligence, a quickly growing field, is the application of data analysis techniques to support business decision-making processes and strategy. The Vice Chair of Business Intelligence is tasked with leading efforts to understand the business intelligence analytic software and data available to us at Michigan Medicine, and then leveraging those findings to inform the department’s business strategy. 

The Vice Chair for Health Services Research is tasked with overseeing the health services research community, fostering a collaborative research environment, providing opportunities for innovative collaborations and mentorship, and assisting with the developing the infrastructure necessary to maintain such an environment.