NORMAN – Gerard P. Clancy, M.D, president of The University of Oklahoma – Tulsa, has announced his resignation to accept the position of Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the College of Health Sciences at The University of Tulsa. His resignation is effective December 31, 2014.
“The University of Tulsa has selected an exceptional educator and leader to head its new College of Health Sciences,” OU President David L. Boren said. “Dr. Clancy has led tremendous growth in programs and facilities during his years at OU-Tulsa, both as president and dean of the OU School of Community Medicine. His dedication to students and to health initiatives that benefit Tulsa and all of Oklahoma is exemplary.”
During his 13 years at OU-Tulsa, Dr. Clancy oversaw more than 30 academic programs with consistent growth in student enrollment to more than 1700 students today. With his guidance, OU Physicians more than doubled its clinical practice plan visits.
Also under his leadership, financial support of OU-Tulsa programs grew with the campus, adding $132 million in new endowed faculty chairs, nearly $142 million in fully-funded new facilities – including seven new buildings – and $17.5 million in new student scholarships. Dr. Clancy also assisted in the development of a community health network that includes mobile psychiatric teams, after-hours student-led complimentary medical clinics for the underserved, the Wayman Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic and school-based clinics in disadvantaged areas.
In addition, Dr. Clancy also oversaw the creation of several new research programs and partnerships, including the OU Center for Integrative Immunology, the OU Photonics and Quantum Optics Laboratories and the OU Early Childhood Education Institute.
In 2008, Dr. Clancy assisted in the re-shaping of the medical education program of the OU College of Medicine in Tulsa. The college was renamed the OU-School of Community Medicine, with the explicit commitment to improve the health of entire communities. In 2010, the OU School of Community Medicine and The University of Tulsa joined forces to create the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, a four-year community medicine track. Its first class of students is scheduled to begin class in fall, 2015.
“We’re grateful for Dr. Clancy’s service to OU and to the community,” Boren said. “While the OU family will miss him and his wife, Paula, we look forward to our continued relationship with him in his new role at TU, where he’ll be strongly involved in the collaboration between our two universities.”
Boren said he will recommend that the OU Board of Regents approve the appointment of John H. Schumann, M.D., to serve as interim president of OU-Tulsa, effective January 1, 2015. Dr. Schumann is program director and vice chair of education for the OU School of Community Medicine’s Internal Medicine program.
“Ever since Dr. John Schumann came to OU -Tulsa more than three years ago, he and his wife, Dr. Sarah-Anne Schumann, have been hard at work to improve the quality of life and health care for all Tulsans,” Boren said. “He has proven himself to be an exceptional physician and administrator. His educational background is outstanding. We are very fortunate that he has agreed to step into this important leadership position.”
Dr. Schumann said, “I am honored that President Boren and the OU Board of Regents have asked me to take on this new role at OU-Tulsa. I look forward to working with our outstanding faculty and the Tulsa community to ensure that our students and patients have the best possible experience at OU-Tulsa and that we can continue to increase the educational opportunities for our students.”
Dr. Schumann attended Yale University, where he majored in history. Following work for the United States Information Agency in Washington, D.C., he earned his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, his hometown. His residency program was with Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., which is affiliated with Harvard University. After his residency, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2002 and completed a fellowship in clinical medical ethics there. He also co-chaired the faculty advisory board of the university’s Human Rights Program.
Dr. Schumann has authored the blog GlassHospital since 2010, writing weekly posts intended to demystify medicine and bring transparency to health care and policy. His essays are frequently re-posted on leading health and patient advocacy blogs across the country. He has also written for Slate, the Atlantic, the radio program Marketplace, and National Public Radio’s health blog, Shots. Since moving to Tulsa in 2011, he is a frequent contributor to KWGS FM, the NPR affiliate in Tulsa, where he piloted and hosts a program called Medical Matters.
Dr. Schumann and his wife, Dr. Sarah-Anne Schumann, a family physician and OU faculty member, have a daughter, Noa, and a son, Jesse.
