Publications
Strategic Transitions
Annual Report - 1998-1999
When Dr. John Mendelsohn came to M. D. Anderson in the summer of 1996, one of his priorities as president was to quickly become familiar with the people who make up the cancer center’s large and complex organization.
From faculty leaders to division and department administrators to groups of employees, he met with a wide range of personnel during his first few months on the job. He also sought and received advice from leaders of The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors.
Two and one-half years later, Dr. Mendelsohn can look back on that period as having provided key insights into the establishment of a new senior leadership team and organizational structure that will lead M. D. Anderson into the 21st century.
The appointments last year of Kevin S. Wardell, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Leon J. Leach, chief financial officer; and Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, executive vice president and chief academic officer, formed the foundation of Dr. Mendelsohn’s Management Committee.
At press time in January 1999, Dr. Mendelsohn announced Dr. von Eschenbach’s decision to resign as chief academic officer, in order to focus his leadership on the high-priority multidisciplinary Center for Genitourinary Cancer. Dr. Margaret L. Kripke succeeds Dr. von Eschenbach as senior vice president and chief academic officer. Dr. David L. Callender has been appointed senior vice president and chief medical officer.
Dr. Martin N. Raber joins the senior management team as vice president for strategic and business planning, as does Dr. Mitchell Morris as vice president for information services and health care systems.
“Each of these individuals has infused a mix of new ideas and talent, along with admiration and respect for what already has been accomplished at M. D. Anderson,” Dr. Mendelsohn says. “The new team will work well together and with me, bringing considerable expertise and action to the areas they direct.”
Those responsible for other areas that provide key support for the President’s Office and for activities involving external constituencies -such as Development, Governmental Relations, Public Affairs and Legal Affairs -report directly to Dr. Mendelsohn.
In addition, the search for skilled leaders in key areas was a top priority throughout the year. Outstanding leaders in biochemistry, anesthesiology and critical care, surgery, pathology and laboratory medicine, among others, were appointed.
Dr. Mendelsohn and his team also were busy last year working with faculty leaders to craft a new institutional vision statement designed to express the cancer center’s guiding principles and a strategic plan for M. D. Anderson. They were completed in late summer.
An important aspect of the vision statement is its close ties to M. D. Anderson’s new strategic plan, a comprehensive document that sets the institution’s course for the next three years (1999-2001). The six tenets of the vision statement serve as the six goals of the strategic plan. Each goal has a number of objectives, for which quantifiable or qualitative performance measures or actions have been developed.
“We have in place an excellent leadership team and an ambitious strategic plan to guide our institution into the new millennium,” Dr. Mendelsohn says. “I am excited about the future of M. D. Anderson, as we all work together and creatively to achieve our goal of Making Cancer History.”