Penn inaugurates search for new Student Health director

The search for a new executive director of Student Health Services has begun, acting Executive Director of SHS Dr. Max King said, after former Executive Director Evelyn Wiener died in May of this year.

King is the associate vice provost for Health and Academic Services and has been with Penn for 17 years. He has taken over Wiener’s administrative responsibilities at SHS until a new director is named. Day-to-day operations have been distributed among other staff. Dr. King does not plan to institute any significant changes at SHS until the new director is hired. He assures the Penn community that services and management at SHS will continue to run smoothly.

The search process for a new executive director is in its early stages. The position has only recently been advertised through listservs, and there are about a dozen candidates as of now. The position is expected to be filled by the end of the semester.

“[We’d] want to have an ideal candidate and offer a position by tomorrow, but it never works that way,” Dr. King said.

He hopes that the search will yield four to six serious candidates whom will be brought in for interviews. Candidates both affiliated and unaffiliated with Penn will be considered, although Penn-affiliated candidates have an advantage since they are already be familiar with the Penn system.

“We will look at the candidate pool and determine the most viable candidates. Whenever you have a search like this, you have a number of people who will apply for the position, whether they’re qualified or not, and we eliminate them immediately.”

The search committee is composed of clinical staff, individuals from the Penn health system, faculty members and administrators from different schools. Students who are nominated by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and the Undergraduate Assembly will also have a voice in the search, as well as one student from the Student Health Advisory Board.

King hopes the new executive director will be a “good fit for Student Health and understand [Penn] students, and take Student Health into the next couple of decades.”

“[We’re] looking for someone to stay for a while,” he added.

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