MD Anderson continues leadership restructuring

In a move that guts deposed president Ron DePinho’s leftover executive leadership team, MD Anderson Cancer Center’s provost and physician-in-chief have been relieved of their duties.

Dr.Ethan Dmitrovsky and Dr. Thomas Buchholz will return to their faculty positions as part of a restructuring announced Thursday by Dr. Marshall Hicks, who became interim president after DePinho resigned in March.

“This change is being made so we can make decisions closer to where the work is done and create an environment where all views are considered,” Hicks said in a video announcement on MD Anderson’s website. “To support more nimble decision making, we have flattened the leadership structure and will no longer have executive vice president roles.”

Hicks noted that Dan Fontaine, MD Anderson’s former chief financial officer, previously had announced his retirement and will serve as a senior advisor until January 2018.

Dr. Stephen Hahn remains the chief operating officer. He was promoted to the job a month prior to the ouster of DePinho.

Dmitrovsky, who was recruited by DePinho to become provost in 2013, will continue his research in pharmacology and toxicology and support the institution’s Cancer Center Support Grant, Hicks said. Buchholz, a veteran administrator promoted to physician in chief by DePinho in 2013, will continue as a professor of radiation oncology and remain engaged in the institution’s philanthropic and corporate sponsorship activities, said Hicks.

A University of Texas Systemappointed search committee currently is narrowing the candidates for the new presidency.