OHSU board of directors appoints interim president
The Oregon Health & Science University board of directors on Monday approved a resolution to appoint Steve Stadum, J.D., interim president of the academic health center, effective Tuesday.
“The process for selecting OHSU’s permanent president will be appropriately vigorous, guided by our values and include broad input,” said Board President Chad Paulson, J.D. “In the meantime, please join me in extending a warm welcome back to Mr. Stadum.”
On Tuesday, his first official day serving as interim president, Stadum sent the following message to OHSU members:
Dear OHSU members,
It feels good to be back home at OHSU. It is an honor to serve as interim president and reconnect with many familiar faces; I also look forward to meeting those of you with whom I have yet to cross paths.
Throughout my career I’ve come to appreciate the unique energy found at academic health centers. Something special happens when education, research and health care intersect, and in Oregon that place is at OHSU. My passion for OHSU comes from spending 17 years being a part of this mission-driven community, and helping it grow to become one of our nation’s premier academic health centers.
I’d like to take this opportunity to share a little bit of OHSU’s history and my role in it. I started at OHSU back in 1999 as general counsel and corporate secretary. At that time, OHSU was only a few years into its transition from a state agency to a public corporation. With additional operational flexibility, better access to capital and more tools to develop our programs, we faced new opportunities and challenges. Along with our ambitions, we also recognized the importance of accountability. As such, I led the establishment of our institution-wide regulatory compliance program, hired our first integrity officer, drafted the first Code of Conduct and enhanced our civil rights office.
With limited capacity on Marquam Hill and a need to expand facilities to accommodate expected growth, I was also heavily involved in the strategic expansion of our campus from 1999 to 2006. I co-led the team that directed the Oregon Opportunity legislative initiative, which resulted in a $200 million state investment in OHSU research programs (funded through the national tobacco settlement), matched by more than $350 million in philanthropy. While the Biomedical Research Building and Kohler Pavilion were under construction, I led the project to build the Portland Aerial Tram and OHSU’s South Waterfront campus. After serving under Presidents Peter Kohler and Joe Robertson, I became chief operating officer of the Knight Cancer Institute where, based on the vision and transformative precision medicine era launched by Dr. Brian Druker, I co-led the successful $1 billion fundraising campaign for cancer research.
I left OHSU in 2016 for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, where I served as executive vice president and chief operating officer until 2022, then became a special adviser to the director until I retired in September. Notably, I also led the restructuring of oncology programs among Fred Hutch, the University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and served as chief integration officer for Fred Hutch and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance through the completion of their merger as part of the oncology program restructuring.
I am proud to have worked alongside so many dedicated professionals in their service to advance the essential missions of OHSU and Fred Hutch. I am also proud to have been involved with many transformative projects at these institutions — but they were not achieved without disruption, anxiety, controversy and practical challenges.
In fact, there are many elements of OHSU’s current environment that remind me of my early years here at OHSU. In those challenging times, I remained anchored by staying true to my values and remembering the mission and vision that drive our work — the same things I intend to do in this interim role.
I recognize the gravity of this moment for OHSU. The stress our community is feeling amid uncertainty and significant change within our university is compounded by the stress and anxiety that is widely felt by many during election season and culminating today on Election Day. Please see some additional thoughts I have on the election here.
I look forward to working with you in the coming months to help position OHSU for our next president, continue our progress and prepare us for the next chapter of OHSU’s future, which is bright.
Sincerely,
Steve Stadum, J.D.
Interim President