UCSF names Sam Hawgood as new dean of School of Medicine

The University of California, San Francisco has named Sam Hawgood, MBBS, as dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs.  The appointment was reported today to the UC Board of Regents.  It is effective immediately.

A distinguished physician-scientist and international leader in neonatology, Hawgood, 56, has served as interim dean since December 2007.  UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, proposed Hawgood’s appointment as dean. 

“Dr. Hawgood’s willingness to tackle the most significant challenges, even while in an interim role, has created a level of confidence, cooperation, and respect in the school that can only serve to promote further growth and excellence,”  said Desmond-Hellmann. “I especially want to highlight Sam’s blend of leadership and collaborative skills, which were clearly displayed during his term as interim dean.”

As interim dean, Hawgood led the school in advancing a campuswide strategic plan that included expanding translational research, fostering patient-centered care, and furthering global health.  He also has been actively involved in planning the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, scheduled to open in 2014 with specialty hospitals for children, women, and cancer patients.

During the economic downturn of the past year and an unprecedented reduction in financial resources, Hawgood has overseen plans for modification and delay of programs that will continue to maintain the high quality of the school, which is consistently ranked as one of the top medical schools in the country.

“Despite the unprecedented financial challenges we face, my confidence in our future and my enthusiasm for the opportunity to lead the school is undiminished,” Hawgood said. “Our core capital, the excellence of our students, staff, and faculty, is as strong as at any time in our history. We have the opportunity for further growth on all our campuses, and we enjoy the unrivaled support of a generous community. Our challenges are clear but so are our opportunities to achieve further excellence in each of our missions.”

While holding the post of interim dean, Hawgood also served as chair of the Department of Pediatrics, physician-in-chief of the UCSF Children’s Hospital, and president of the UCSF Medical Group.  He will now relinquish these roles. He is associate director of the UCSF Cardiovascular Institute and will continue in this position.

Hawgood has spent his entire professional career at UCSF.  In 1984 he joined the neonatology faculty, and in 1994 he was named chief of the Division of Neonatology. In 2004 he was appointed chair of pediatrics and physician-in-chief for UCSF Children’s Hospital.

As a specialist in the care of newborns, Hawgood directed the William H. Tooley Intensive Care Nursery at UCSF Children’s Hospital, one of the first neonatal intensive care units in the U.S. and an international model for treatment of premature and critically ill infants. He is past president of the Society for Pediatric Research and a past trustee of the International Pediatric Research Foundation.

Hawgood also led the neonatology team that has been critical to the success of the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center, saving the lives of infants who need surgery as newborns and some who need treatment before birth. As a scientist, he has a special interest in infants’ developing lungs. He directs a major National Institutes of Health grant that supports a range of UCSF projects that seek a new basic understanding of lung biology and pulmonary diseases.

As chair of pediatrics and leader of UCSF Children’s Hospital, Hawgood oversaw an academic and clinical enterprise that is recognized as one of the nation’s best. 

Hawgood graduated from the University of Queensland in Australia with first class honors, receiving a MBBS degree that is equivalent to the MD degree in the U.S.  He completed his pediatric training at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, and neonatal fellowships at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and UCSF.

Hawgood’s total annual compensation will be $645,475.  This is comprised of a base salary of $450,000, which is 10 percent less than his predecessor, and a Health Sciences Compensation Plan component of $195,475, which is compensation available to health sciences faculty based on their salary history and clinical and research activities.

His salary is subject to a10 percent reduction under the UC-wide mandated furlough/salary reduction program approved by the UC Regents for the period September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010.  His compensation includes standard pension and health and welfare benefits, standard senior management benefits (including senior management life insurance, executive business travel insurance, and executive salary continuation for disability), and accrual of sabbatical credits as a member of the faculty.

The UCSF School of Medicine has a fourfold mission of education, research, patient care and public service.  In spring 2009, “U.S News & World Report” ranked the school fifth nationally both for its research training and its primary care training – the only medical school in the country ranked in the top five in both categories.  In research support, the school has ranked among the top four institutions nationally in total NIH funding for more than a decade.  NIH funding in 2008 was $383.7 million.

The school’s education and training sites include UCSF Medical Center, UCSF Children’s Hospital, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at UCSF, San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center, San Francisco VA Medical Center, and affiliated hospitals through the UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program.

Hawgood and his wife Jane, a social worker with UCSF Adult Palliative Care Services, reside in San Francisco.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For further information, visit www.ucsf.edu.