CU President selects two finalists for
UCD Chancellor
Office of Public Relations
September 2005
University of Colorado President Hank Brown has identified two candidates for Chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver.
The two finalists were identified this week from several candidates forwarded to the President by the search committee chaired by CU-Colorado Springs Chancellor Pam Shockley. The two candidates will participate in several system-wide interviews starting the week of Sept. 19 and continuing through Oct. 12.
The two finalists are:
S. Bruce Dowton, MD, who most recently served as the Dean of Medicine and a professor of pediatrics at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He currently is a visiting professor at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Prior to joining the University of New South Wales, Dr. Dowton spent eleven years at Washington University in St. Louis as an associate vice chancellor, associate dean for Medical Education, and director, Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics.
He earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and his research doctorate from the University of Sydney. After initial clinical training in Australia, Dr. Dowton trained at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston and was subsequently a junior faculty member at the Harvard Medical School.
Darrell G. Kirch, MD, who is the senior vice president for Health Affairs, dean of the College of Medicine, and chief executive officer of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State University. Prior to joining Penn State’s academic health center, Dr. Kirch spent six years at the Medical College of Georgia serving as senior vice president for Clinical Activities, dean of the School of Medicine, and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
Dr. Kirch earned both his BA and MD degrees from the University of Colorado. He went on to CU’s Health Sciences Center to complete his residency training in psychiatry in 1982. After his residency, Dr. Kirch joined the National Institute of Mental Health where he directed a number of units and eventually was named acting scientific director.
When appointed, the new Chancellor will take over from James H. Shore, MD, who announced his intent to retire back in November 2004 to allow sufficient time for a national search. Dr. Shore served as Chancellor for seven years during which time the move to Fitzsimons became a reality and, under his leadership, the timeline was accelerated. He has served as Chancellor of UCD since the campuses were consolidated in July 2004.
The Chancellor is appointed by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the President. The Chancellor, a direct report to the President of the University, is the chief academic and administrative officer of UCD. The Chancellor serves as the chair of the University of Colorado Hospital Authority board of directors. The Chancellor also serves as a member of the Auraria Higher Education Center board of directors.
The Chancellor is responsible to the President for the conduct and affairs of UCD in accordance with the policies of the Board of Regents for all operations and activities at UCD.
“ The level of candidates the committee brought forth to me was outstanding,” said President Brown. “The breadth of administrative, academic and medical experience both candidates offer is quite impressive.
“ The consolidated UCD is history in the making. I think we are seeing such high caliber candidates because of the consolidated campus’ exciting future,” added Brown.
The UCD campuses were consolidated in July 2004, creating the new university called University of Colorado Denver. The consolidated campus enrolls 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students, includes 11 schools, three locations in Denver and Aurora, employs over 12,000 faculty and staff, and has an annual operating budget of $850 million.
UCD is the only academic health center in the state and is considered the major health center for the Rocky Mountain region. Additionally, the development of the 227-acre Fitzsimons campus marks the largest redevelopment project in academic medicine today.
