Robert W. Cantrell, University vice president and provost for health sciences, announced Tuesday he will leave the post when his term ends June 30.
After a year-long sabbatical beginning next fall, Cantrell plans to resume his role at the University as a professor.
Cantrell, 67, joined the faculty in 1976 as professor and chairman of the otolaryngology (head and neck surgery) department. He then directed the Medical Center's ambulatory care services, overseeing the improvement and expansion of outpatient services.
In January 1995, he succeeded Don E. Detmer as vice president and provost for health sciences.
Cantrell cites progress made toward the "Ideal Patient Encounter," an outline of 20 facets of proper patient care, as the greatest accomplishment of his term.
"In a large institution like ours, it's easy for patients to get lost in the shuffle," Cantrell said. We have tried to "find new and better ways to deliver care to patients."
At a Faculty Senate meeting yesterday, University President John T. Casteen III said "Dr. Cantrell made extraordinarily powerful contributions to the University."
Under Cantrell's leadership, the Medical Center has made major progress in capital construction, research funding and activity, national reputation and capital fundraising, Casteen said later.
"He has been an active contributor to University-wide policy decisions," he said.
For the first time in the hospital's history, HCIA, Inc., a leading health care information company, named the University Medical Center as one of the nation's top 100 hospitals for three years in a row.
The center also is enjoying financial security at a time when many medical institutions are suffering financially, Cantrell said.
During his term, the University has added 900,000 square feet of space to the Medical Center. Funding for research has increased from $82 million to $121 million.
Future leaders, however, will be forced to deal with the University's critical nursing shortage, which is driven by the high costs of health care delivery, he said.
"Keeping a viable health care work force with good morale ... is going to be difficult," he added.
Officials will not begin the search for Cantrell's replacement until a study on the restructuring of academic leadership for the Medical Center is completed, University spokeswoman Louise Dudley said.
In addition to his work at the University, Cantrell has served as president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and is the author or co-author of more than 200 professional publications. He has been a consultant to the U.S. surgeon general, the National Institute of Health and other federal and state agencies.
"I've been doing this for seven years now, and I think it's time to pass the baton on to someone else," Cantrell said.
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