Cardiologist chosen as UTMC dean

‘Dedicated clinician’ ready for leadership position

7/29/2014

Dr. Christopher Cooper

A cardiologist who has worked at University of Toledo Medical Center for 20 years has been chosen to lead the former Medical College of Ohio.

Dr. Christopher Cooper is expected to be appointed to the job of dean of College of Medicine and Life Sciences by the Board of Trustees when they meet in September. Dr. Cooper will start his new position, however, on Aug. 18, spokesman Jon Strunk said.

“I’m really looking forward to working with people from UTMC and also from the community to help the university achieve its potential for its health-care mission. I’ve loved living in Toledo and it’s been a blessing,” Dr. Cooper said.

University officials launched a national search to fill the job vacated by Dr. Jeffrey Gold earlier this year when he accepted the position as chancellor of the University of Nebraska in February.

University trustees made the decision to separate the role of chancellor from the dean of the College of Medicine. Dr. Gold was paid an annual salary of $462,467 his final year as chancellor of UTMC.

Dr. Cooper, who will be promoted from his current role of chair of the Department of Medicine, said he is still negotiating his contract with the university and that his salary has not been set.

“Dr. Cooper is one of our most dedicated clinicians, teachers, and medical researchers. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have him in Toledo these last 20 years, and I am pleased that he has accepted my invitation to lead our College of Medicine and Life Sciences.” said Interim UT President Nagi Naganathan in a written statement.

Dave Morlock will continue as CEO of the UT Medical Center and will report to Dr. Cooper. Dr. Cooper will report to Mr. Naganathan and to Interim Provost John Barrett.

Dr. Cooper joined the former Medical College of Ohio in 1994 after completing a cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

He was appointed interim chair of the Department of Medicine in 2012 and was named to the permanent post in April, 2013. From 2002 to 2012, Dr. Cooper served as director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and from 2008 to 2011, he also served as director of the UT Heart and Vascular Center.

Dr. Cooper is a fellow at the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Physicians. Since 2012, he has served on the board of governors of the American College of Cardiology and is president of the Ohio Chapter.

UT is currently involved in several searches to find permanent replacements for some of the top jobs at the university.

The university announced last month that Dr. Lloyd Jacobs would leave his position June 30, after previously announcing in March that he would step down effective June 30, 2015, a year before his contract ends.

He will spend the next academic year on sabbatical as a fellow with the Council on Competitiveness, a Washington-based organization that seeks to enhance America’s position in the global marketplace. He will return to UT in 2015 as a professor of surgery.

Under a revised contract, he will receive $392,700 annually for the next three years (matching his current salary as president), collect a $150,000 lump-sum payment, and receive other benefits.

A search for Dr. Jacobs’ permanent replacement is already under way, with search firm Witt/​Kieffer of Oak Brook, Ill., leading the effort.

The university must also name a new provost to succeed Scott Scarborough, who left earlier this month to become president of the University of Akron.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.