Oregon Health & Science University President Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A., named Norwood Knight-Richardson, M.D., M.A., M.B.A., to the newly created position of vice president and chief administrative officer. In this role Knight-Richardson will oversee facility operations, campus planning and real estate as well as central human resources. He also will handle special assignments for the president, will supervise the university’s affirmative action and equal opportunity efforts and serve as the chief diversity officer.
“Dr. Norwood Knight-Richardson is a wonderful addition to our team,” said Robertson. “In addition to his talents as a clinician, he has significant experience as an administrator in both academia and industry and has been a leader in diversity and cultural competency training.”
“I am inspired by the opportunities to contribute to the continued success of OHSU that my new position brings. There can be no greater privilege than to be a part of an organization’s leadership whose mission is to advance the healthcare and well-being of all Oregonians,” Knight-Richardson said.
Knight-Richardson, vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, has served on the faculty of OHSU’s psychiatry department since 2003. Before his appointment to the executive leadership team, he was also director of OHSU’s public psychiatry training and telemedicine programs as well as medical director of the Avel Gordly Center for Healing, a multicultural, adult outpatient treatment clinic. In addition, Knight-Richardson teaches a course in cultural competency at OHSU.
Before joining OHSU, Knight-Richardson served as chief executive officer of a hospital and was president of a vertically integrated health care company. Knight-Richardson also has an extensive history of public service at the local, state and federal levels. He has chaired the committee on cultural competency for the President’s National New Freedom Commission.
Knight-Richardson attended The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy where he earned a joint M.A. degree in international law and diplomacy from Tufts /Harvard Universities. In addition, he earned an M.B.A. in administration and general finance from Harvard University. He studied medicine at the University of Texas and trained in psychiatry at the University of Washington.
In his new role on the executive leadership team, he will continue some of his previous clinical and administrative duties, including serving as vice chair of the Department of Psychiatry.
About OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is the state’s only health and research university, and Oregon’s only academic health center. OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government). OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support activities not found anywhere else in the state. It serves patients from every corner of the state, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to every county in the state.