The Health System has an interim CEO, and the Medical School a new interim dean -- for the second time in less than six months.
We certainly can't fault Peter Traber for taking a new job as head of clinical research at GlaxoSmithKline, the massive drug company soon to be formed by the merger of GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beecham.
But he leaves the Health System at what would seem to be a bad time -- just months after being appointed its permanent head -- while the system is still suffering from serious financial problems.
Traber was named interim Health System CEO and Medical School dean following the removal of William Kelley by the administration. Kelley's ousting came after two years of massive operating deficits for the Health System, accompanied by large-scale layoffs.
Traber seemed to have taken to the job enthusiastically and had started to make plans to get the Health System back on sound financial footing. We hope that the interim CEO, former Health System COO Robert Martin, and whoever is ultimately named CEO are able to continue on that course.
The Health System needs stable leadership to set it on the right foot financially. We hope the administration will act quickly to appoint a new CEO. The administration cannot afford to allow this search to go on seemingly interminably, like some searches for other positions have.
The same thing applies to the Medical School dean search. The school improved significantly under Kelley, shooting up the national rankings. To continue this improvement, the school needs a permanent leader.
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