Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Duke University, announced today that she will be stepping down from her role as dean at the end of her tenth year, in June 2017.
In a statement to faculty, students and staff, Dean Andrews wrote, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you and Duke, and I could not ask for better colleagues or a more vibrant academic community. From the beginning of my deanship, I’ve been committed to the idea that leadership should be refreshed periodically, and I feel that the end of my second term is the right time. I have finished what I set out to do when I came to Duke, and together we have done much more, in spite of the strong headwinds of a difficult NIH budget and the economic downturn.”
“Dean Andrews is a visionary leader who has guided the School of Medicine through nine years of unprecedented growth and achievement,” said Eugene Washington, MD, chancellor for health affairs and president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System. “Her support of research and faculty development and her commitment to diversity and inclusion, in particular, have the laid the foundation for the school’s continued recognition as one of our nation’s premier medical schools. On behalf of the school’s faculty, staff and students and all of Duke, I want to express my sincerest appreciation for her extraordinary leadership.”
During her tenure as dean, great progress has been made on many critical fronts:
- Construction of the first new medical education building since 1930, the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center;
- Acquisition of a new facility for the Physician Assistant program;
- Construction of the Hudson Building at the Duke Eye Center;
- Creation of a satellite campus for the School in the Durham Innovation District;
- Two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry awarded for work done by Duke School of Medicine faculty members;
- Creation of four new departments: Dermatology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurology and Neurosurgery; and creation of the Duke Cancer Institute;
- Development of new educational programs including the Primary Care Leadership Track, Scholars in Molecular Medicine, Master of Biomedical Sciences, MS and PhD in Biostatistics, and Master of Management in Clinical Informatics;
- Launch of Duke AHEAD, an education academy to support faculty educators;
- Creation of the Duke Office for Clinical Research, the Office for Research Development for multi-investigator grants, and the Office for Research Informatics for academic IT innovation;
- Development of numerous faculty development programs including LEADER, Path to Independence, and the K-Club;
- Launch of new interdisciplinary research initiatives including the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Center for Genomics of Microbial Systems, Center for Human Disease Modeling, Center for RNA Biology, Center for Genomics and Computational Biology, Center for Statistical Genetics and Genomics, Regeneration Next, and the Center for Population Health Sciences;
- Creation of MEDx, a School of Medicine partnership with the Pratt School of Engineering; and
- Creation of the School’s first inclusion council and implementation of numerous initiatives focused on improving diversity and inclusion in the School.
“Through these and other efforts, the Duke School of Medicine is very well positioned for the future,” said Dean Andrews in her message to the School of Medicine community. “For my own part, I am looking forward to a rare opportunity to slow down and think carefully about what I want to accomplish in the next phase of my career. I will always be grateful for your service to our institution, your support and your friendship.”
Chancellor Washington announced that a committee will be formed immediately to begin a national search for a new dean.