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3 Internal Candidates in Running for USF Health Top Job

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

There's no rush to pick the new leader for USF Health, but three internal candidates have been named. 

The Tampa Bay Times reports search firm Quick Leonard Kieffer is still looking for candidates from outside USF, but has named three current USF Health executives, who are scheduled to be interviewed this Friday. 

The candidates are Dr. Clifton Gooch, chairman of the neurology department; Dr. Charles Paidas, vice dean for clinical affairs and graduate medical education; andDr. David J. Smith Jr., chairman of the surgery department and chief medical officer at USF Health's Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS).

USF communications and marketing manager Lara Wade says this week's interviews with the three men are "initial conversations," adding that the university is taking its time "to make sure we've got the right fit."

Wade tells WUSF the new leader will technically fill two jobs: Senior Vice President of USF Health and dean of the USF Morsani College of Medicine. Former boss Dr. Stephen Klasko left earlier this yearto become president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital System in Philadelphia.

 

Mark Schreiner has been the producer and reporter for "University Beat" on WUSF 89.7 FM since 2001 and on WUSF TV from 2007-2017.