Vice Dean

Please note that as of the end of July, this search is at an advanced stage in the process. In the event that your experience and background are a good fit for the position, we will be in touch.

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine seeks an outstanding physician executive and medical education leader to serve as the next Vice Dean for the Regional Campus at Fresno (Vice Dean). The Vice Dean will lead UCSF Fresno as the premier hub of world-class academic medical training for California’s San Joaquin Valley, advancing health in the region through teaching, patient care, research, and community partnerships.

UCSF Fresno was created as a graduate medical education campus of the UCSF School of Medicine in 1975 with support from the California Legislature and the Veteran’s Administration to address the severe shortage of physicians in the San Joaquin Valley. UCSF Fresno is the San Joaquin Valley’s largest physician training program, now expanded to provide high quality education. More than 600 medical students, residents, and fellows from around the United States train on a rotating basis each year in nine medical specialties and 21 sub-specialties. More than 650 UCSF core and volunteer faculty at UCSF Fresno care for thousands of patients annually and train the next generation of outstanding clinicians and patient advocates. UCSF Fresno plays a key role in recruiting UCSF-quality academic physicians to Fresno to achieve increases in services and direct patient care in the region.

UCSF Fresno emphasizes training students, residents, and fellows who are originally from the San Joaquin Valley and will remain in the region to deliver care and address the severe shortage of physicians. With UCSF LCME reaccreditation scheduled for 2027, the Vice Dean will provide leadership in ensuring equivalency of educational and clinical experiences at Fresno to those in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to medical education, UCSF Fresno conducts medical research and clinical trials specific to San Joaquin Valley health issues including diabetes, heart failure, lung cancer, and Valley fever. Through a variety of pathway programs, UCSF Fresno prepares students from disadvantaged backgrounds for careers in health and medicine. UCSF School of Medicine ensures that every UCSF graduate is prepared for careers providing compassionate, patient-centered care, grounded in scientific and scholarly inquiry, social justice, anti-racism, and interprofessional teamwork.

The Vice Dean will bring skill and creativity in fostering and managing partnerships with affiliate organizations in complex clinical landscapes. UCSF Fresno is a medical education campus, and none of the healthcare delivery systems in the San Joaquin Valley are owned or operated by UCSF Health. As such, the success of UCSF Fresno is dependent on the adroit management and stewardship of key partnerships, including Community Health Systems, Central California Faculty Medical Group, Fresno VA, Family HealthCare Network, Fresno State, and UC Merced. The structure requires a high degree of centralized oversight in order to achieve learning objectives.

This position presents a critical opportunity to galvanize and expand the number of physicians seeking to fill the immense need facing the incredibly diverse, underserved population in the San Joaquin Valley. There is a clear moral imperative to address the disparities in access to high quality care that exist between the coast and the Valley of California. The civic and business leadership of the Valley has laid the groundwork, and now is a pivotal moment with broad regional buy-in and political will statewide to address these needs and fully achieve the mission of the University of California.

The Vice Dean will be a collaborative, strategic leader of great integrity, bring experience navigating complex clinical landscapes, have demonstrated experience leading educational programs, and demonstrate the ability to create a sense of shared purpose and community within the learning and care delivery environment. The Vice Dean must also be a visionary institutional thinker who can strategically anticipate global trends and align the educational and clinical missions with those of the many partners who share the collective goal of advancing health in the region. In doing so, the Vice Dean will address a number of key opportunities and challenges:

• Coalesce and develop the constellation of strategic relationships necessary to provide the foundation of robust training experiences
• Enhance a unique set of protocols, processes, and systems that seamlessly sync with UCSF
• Advance a culture and climate of collaboration, diversity, equity, belonging, and anti-oppression
• Harness the ambition and purpose of UCSF Fresno to further develop a world-class team
• Lead by example in setting appropriate tone of professionalism, transparency, leadership, and aspiration

David Bellshaw is leading this search with Evan Layne. 

Complete applications will include: CV, cover letter, statement of research, statement of teaching, and a statement of contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Applications must be submitted via the UC website here. Electronic submission of materials is required.