Charge to the Search Committee
Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology
October 31, 2008


I have been told that prior to my arrival in 2006 it was not customary for the Dean to supply a written charge to search committees.  In my opinion, this was a custom which should not be continued.  Clearly provided instructions to a search committee are likely to facilitate your work and achieve a work product, for me, which will match my expectations.  To this end, I provide the following charge to the search committee for the chairperson of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. 

The Job Description

Radiation Oncology is that discipline of medicine which concerns itself with the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer with particular attention to the role of ionizing radiation.  Between 40% and 60% of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy as a component of their treatment.  Radiation therapy involves the use of teletherapy (external beam radiation therapy); brachytherapy (radioactive implantation of permanent or temporary radioisotopes); liquid radioisotopes, and, in some departments, hyperthermia (the use of heat generated by ultrasound or microwave as a radio or chemo sensitizer). 

You are seeking a chair person for the Department of Radiation Oncology who will report to the Dean and who will, in turn, be reported to by the faculty and staff of the department.  You will be mindful of the fact that, unlike some other clinical departments, a significant proportion of the faculty of the Department of Radiation Oncology are not MDs—rather they are Ph.D.– level medical physicists and cancer biologists.  You are seeking an academic leader who will fulfill the clinical, educational, and research missions of the department.  As a “hospital-based” department, good negotiation skills are important in this position in order to deal with the multiple pushes and tugs of the relationship with University Hospital, the Louisville VA Medical Center, and the other treatment sites for the Department of Radiation Oncology in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. 

Dr. William Spanos has served as Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology for twelve years.  He succeeded a similarly long-term chair,  Dr. Robert Lindberg.  In the period encompassed by Drs. Spanos and Lindberg’s chairmanship, there has been a sea change in Radiation Oncology:  the introduction of “forward treatment planning,” the prevalence of intensity modulated radiation therapy, and the introduction of high technology equipment such as proton beam therapy, Gamma Knife, Cyber Knife, Tomotherapy, high rate dose remote after loading brachytherapy, image-guided therapy, respiratory-gated therapy, and intra-operative radiotherapy.  Combined modality therapy requiring close cooperation between the specialties of radiation oncology and medical oncology, gynecological oncology, surgical oncology, pediatric oncology, diagnostic imaging, psychiatry, pathology, and other disciplines is the nature of the specialty. 

This is a difficult time to begin a search.  There are vacant chairmanships at Washington – St. Louis and Fox Chase Cancer Center, and a recent history of failed/protracted searches at many major centers.  While being the only U.S. medical school with a radiation oncologist as Dean may be in our favor, we cannot take success for granted.  We must work for it. 

I’ve elected to proceed with a national search as I feel it would be a disservice to the department not to have a fulsome discussion of the Department of Radiation Oncology’s present and future and to have a broadly cast net for a comprehensive search. 

As I review the current status of the department, I ask that the search committee identifies an individual who has a strong commitment to research output, a commitment to graduate medical education, and an individual who will be an articulate spokesman for the specialty within medical council.  If you examine my choices in recent searches, you will understand the phenotype I seek. 

In any economic undertaking, including the selection of a department chair, you must consider the allocation of resources “compared to alternatives.”  The University of Louisville School of Medicine has recently completed a search for the Chair of Neurology, the Vice Dean for Research, and the Vice Dean for Clinical Outreach and Regionalization.  We currently have searches ongoing for the Chairman of Anesthesiology, Chairman of Biochemistry, Chairman of Medicine, the Endowed Chair in Urban Health Policy, and we will likely have several other chairs “rolling over” in the near future.  This being the case, we will have to be good stewards of limited resources.
I ask you to pay particular attention to the identification of qualified women and under-represented minority candidates.  It is essential that we be mindful of diversity in the leadership of the School of Medicine. 

Interviews

I charge the committee with conducting a series of interviews with key stakeholders during the selection of the Chair of Radiation Oncology.  I ask you to be certain to interview Dr. Spanos, faculty members of the Department of Radiation Oncology, house staff members, and individuals who represent the major departments/divisions that interact with Radiation Oncology.  These individuals should include:  Dr. Miller of the Cancer Center, representatives of medical, pediatric, gynecologic and surgical oncology, representatives of pathology, researchers in cancer biology, and appropriate representatives of the support staff in Radiation Oncology such as Ms. Waldorf of the nursing department, Ms. Kelly of the administrative staff, and representatives of the dosimetrists and the radiation therapists. 

Advertising

The individuals selected may either be an internal or an external candidate.  To identify candidates, I ask that an appropriate phone and mail campaign be undertaken.  I have been quite unimpressed by the usefulness of print advertisements.  The trend, nowadays, is to utilize electronic sites for disseminating information about a search.  If, however, the committee feels it is essential to run advertisements in journals, then please do so. 

The Process

I’ve taken the liberty of already contacting about a dozen potential candidates for this chair.  I’ve copied my letters of inquiry to Drs. Postel and Krueger.  Any positive responses will be forwarded to them.  Several were already received. 

Time Frame

Allow six to twelve weeks to receive other letters of nomination or application with accompanying CVs after you complete your telephone/mail search and appropriate advertisements. 

References

I insist that you check references.  I have noticed that some other search committees seem to have neglected this crucial step. 

Interviews

Conduct one or two rounds of interviews.  I believe it is appropriate, as a matter of courtesy, to offer any internal candidate at least a first-round interview. 

Finalists

On February 15, 2009, and earlier if possible, please provide me with a list of two to four finalists, unranked.  Under no circumstances should you include anyone on this list who the committee would not feel comfortable being offered the job.

The last meeting of your committee should be with me where members of the committee will have the opportunity to discuss the finalists.

My thanks to the committee for your willingness to serve.


Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., F.A.C.R.
Dean of the School of Medicine
Ford Foundation Professor of Medical Education
Professor of Radiation Oncology, Pediatrics, and History