University Times

After six years and three searches, Pitt finally has found a replacement for Thomas Detre, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences.

Arthur S. Levine, 61, currently scientific director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will succeed Detre Nov. 1. In addition to taking on the duties of senior vice chancellor, the chief academic officer for Pitt's six Health Sciences schools, Levine will be dean of the School of Medicine.

"There are few universities in the world where the health sciences, particularly medicine, play a more important role than they do here at Pitt," said Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, who announced the appointment May 21. "Perhaps more important than anything else, in terms of making this decision, was my sense of Dr. Levine's scientific vision. He has been on the cutting edge of the health sciences for virtually all of his career." Detre, who came to Pitt in 1973, served from 1984 to 1992 as president of the University's medical center as well as senior vice chancellor. After Detre relinquished the UPMC presidency (in 1992, the same year he first announced plans to retire), some potential candidates shied away from the job, which they saw as lacking budgetary clout.

But Nordenberg ã who chaired one of the two previous, aborted searches for Detre's successor ã said that perception didn't hinder the recent search.

"That was very reassuring to me," Nordenberg said. "I think candidates saw a position from which they could concentrate on academic leadership, while being assured of a high level of financial support both from UPMC Health System and the University." Levine said the newly reconfigured job "gives me the opportunity to exercise sufficient intellectual credibility that I can, hopefully, get things done through force of moral suasion and leadership, independent of a large amount of money." See interview with Levine, beginning on page 3.

As scientific director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development since 1982, Levine has led a research division that is one of the leading centers in developmental biology, molecular, structural and cellular biology, neuroscience, and clinical research. Levine also has played a leadership role at the NIH in educating and training young physicians and scientists, developing and allocating research resources, and strategic planning.

Levine has done clinical research on childhood malignancies and the molecular mechanisms by which DNA damage is repaired or mutations are induced in bacterial and mammalian genes.

Levine joined the NIH as a clinical associate in the National Cancer Institute in 1967. He became a senior investigator in 1970, and was chief of the pediatric oncology branch from 1975 to 1982. Author or co-author of more than 240 scientific publications, Levine is a graduate of Columbia University and received his M.D. from the Chicago Medical School. After an internship and a residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Hospitals, he served as a fellow in hematology and biochemical genetics at Minnesota before joining the NIH.

Nordenberg said Levine was his first choice among five finalists recommended by the search committee. "If we had been placed in the position of recruiting one of the other finalists, I'm sure that the University's interests would have been well-served. But I'm very pleased that the first offer extended was accepted," the chancellor said.

Led by search committee chairperson H.J. Zoffer, dean emeritus of the Katz Graduate School of Business, the search was extraordinarily secretive by Pitt standards. In most other administrative searches here, names of finalists ã and often, semi-finalists ã are announced publicly. In the most recent searches for Pitt's provost and arts and sciences dean, finalists fielded audience members' questions at open hearings.

But Zoffer, citing candidates' extreme reluctance to be publicly identified unless they got the job, swore search committee members and others interviewing candidates to secrecy. Zoffer initially said he would release finalists' names. But he ended up referring the University Times to the chancellor's office, which refused to reveal the names earlier this month.

Nordenberg said: "Moving into the final recruitment stages, it was my judgment that we would more likely achieve our ultimate goal if we kept the search process non-public. At this point, there really is nothing to be gained by disclosing the identities of candidates who invested a fair amount of time and energy in the process, were extremely well-qualified but were not selected.

"This was a very, very critical recruitment effort for us. It probably will be the single most important appointment that I will make during my tenure in this office. We're been at it for a long time, and I wanted to do everything I could to maximize the likelihood of success." Levine's salary likewise will remain secret until the Board of Trustees' compensation committee sets his pay and benefits at a public meeting ã possibly before the June 25 board meeting, at which Levine will formally be elected as senior vice chancellor and medical dean.

ã Bruce Steele