Announcing the Extension of Dr. Edward B. Healton as Executive Vice President and Executive Dean of Georgetown University Medical Center

Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:

I write to share an update on our leadership at the Georgetown University Medical Center.  It is my pleasure to announce an extension of the appointment of Edward B. Healton, M.D. as Executive Vice President and Executive Dean of Georgetown University Medical Center through June 30, 2019.

When I announced Dr. Healton’s appointment in May 2015, I shared that a central part of his role would be to lead our Medical Center through a strategic process designed to best position us for future growth and establish a strong foundation for the recruitment of our next Executive Vice President. 

In the months since his appointment, Dr. Healton has guided this process with extraordinary care.  During the last year and a half, he has engaged with faculty and staff to address key issues shaping this moment for our Medical Center, and has worked closely with colleagues across our community to ensure a process guided by four key principles: ongoing engagement and dialogue; transparency; creating a supportive work environment; and mutual accountability.  You can read more about this active reflection and deliberation process here .

As a result of these ongoing efforts, Dr. Healton has helped us to establish five primary areas of focus for our Medical Center: aging and age-related diseases; cancer; brain and behavior; population health; and global health.

Dr. Healton has also worked with Provost Robert Groves and Dean William Treanor, Executive Vice President and Dean of our Law Center, to more fully integrate our Medical Center with the Main Campus and the Law Center.  Together, they have launched a joint recruitment effort designed to deepen inter-campus collaborations and interdisciplinary work.

Our partnership with MedStar Health remains important to all we do at our Medical Center, and Dr. Healton will continue to strengthen and deepen our work with MedStar in the time ahead.

When I appointed Dr. Healton to this role, the term—determined through consultation with colleagues from our Medical Center—was set for two years.  The work of this past year has led me to conclude that completion of the tasks we identified will require more time than provided under the original appointment.  After consultation with colleagues and further conversations with Dr. Healton, we have concluded that an additional two years will be required. I offered this extension to Dr. Healton, and he has generously agreed to serve.

I am deeply grateful to Dr. Healton for his dedication to helping our community better define the future of our Medical Center while also creating new opportunities for growth and collaboration and building on our important contributions to research, education, and patient care.  As Dr. Healton continues in his role, I look forward to all we will accomplish together as we seek to best position our Medical Center for responding to the challenges and opportunities during this moment in academic medicine.

I wish to once again express my appreciation to each of you, for your ongoing commitment to our University and to the future of our Medical Center.

You have my very best wishes.

Sincerely,

John J. DeGioia