The University of Louisville Board of Trustees April 14 approved the appointment of Larry N. Cook, M.D., as executive vice president for health affairs.

Cook, who has served in the post on an acting basis since August 2004, assumes the leadership of U of L’s Health Sciences Center in downtown Louisville. The Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Public Health all fall under the oversight of the executive vice president for health affairs, who also serves as a key member of President James Ramsey’s leadership team.

“During our transition period, Dr. Cook has earned the respect of his fellow administrators, faculty, staff, students and key community partners,” Ramsey said. “After a national search, it was clear that his leadership, administrative skills, and long experience with U of L are a winning combination. His ability to bring people together and his passion for the health sciences will keep U of L on the cutting edge.”

Cook joined the U of L faculty in 1974 after completing his pediatric residency at the University of Colorado Medical Center and his neonatology fellowship at U of L.

He was named chair of the pediatrics department and chief of staff at Kosair Children’s Hospital in 1994. He also is president and chairman of the School of Medicine’s practice plan board and the Medical School Practice Association.

He has served as president and been instrumental in the development of University Health Care Inc., a Medicaid managed-care HMO known as Passport, since its inception, Ramsey said.

“I am honored to be offered this exciting and challenging opportunity,” Cook said. “I am passionate about this university and the opportunities that we have for excellence in research, clinical programs and all forms of health sciences education.”

Since Cook’s August appointment as acting vice president, the university broke ground for the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, a partnership with Jewish Hospital. In December, the James Graham Brown Cancer Center received a $15 million gift, the second largest in U of L history. The Health Sciences campus also received approval for a $65 million state-of-the-art facility, slated to house cancer researchers.

The U of L pediatrics research program has thrived under Cook’s leadership.

According to published reports from the National Institutes of Health, the department rose from 70th to 43rd in the national rankings of pediatrics departments for NIH-funded research between 1996 and 2003.

The department’s annual NIH research support grew from $570,611 in 1996 to $3.7 million in 2003.