UPDATE Oct. 26: The board of directors at its regular board meeting tabled a motion to appoint a new OHSU president, and is now moving expeditiously to launch a search for a new president. Read more here.
OHSU President Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, today announced he has decided to step down as president.
Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS (OHSU)
“After careful consideration and for personal reasons, I have informed Board Chair Chad Paulson of my intent to resign as president, effective upon the appointment of a successor. I have shared my recommendations on succession planning with him and fully intend to stay engaged in an advisory role during the transition,” Jacobs said. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity to serve OHSU and the state of Oregon. My wife, Nancy, and I wish everyone the best of all things for the future.”
Chad Paulson
In a separate message to the OHSU community, OHSU Board Chair Chad Paulson stated that after careful consideration of what is best for the university and its statewide mission, the OHSU board of directors will contemplate a resolution at the regular board meeting tomorrow, Oct. 25, to appoint OHSU School of Medicine Dean and Mario and Edith Campagna Chair of Pediatric Neurological Surgery Nate Selden, M.D., Ph.D., the next president of OHSU, effective immediately for a term of three years, upon approval.
Nathan R. Selden, M.D., Ph.D.
“As Dr. Jacobs shared with the OHSU community, he recently informed me of his intent to resign from his position as president,” Paulson said. “He has led us through a tumultuous six years of challenges, including events that have transformed our focus and commitment to equity, compliance and safety, and a global pandemic that has substantially altered the profitability of health care systems. Despite these headwinds, his leadership has created significant growth, change and opportunity for OHSU.
“Under Dr. Jacobs’ leadership and with your [OHSU members’] hard work, we have made great strides in becoming an anti-racist university, diversifying and growing our learning community through 30-30-30, developing research discoveries considered impossible just 10 years ago, entering a definitive agreement with Legacy Health that could change the landscape of health care in the Pacific Northwest, and so much more. We are grateful for his commitment to the mission and values of OHSU, and his commitment to putting the best interests of the university first.”
Paulson noted that Selden will provide the stability the university needs at a time of great change, the experience necessary to successfully integrate with Legacy, and the leadership required to transform the future of OHSU. He asked the OHSU community to join him in thanking Jacobs for his contributions to OHSU and the state of Oregon for six-plus years, and supporting Selden as the board considers his candidacy for president tomorrow.