UVA Health CEO resigns, effective immediately

Dr. Craig Kent resigned as the CEO of UVA Health on Tuesday, following a closed-session meeting of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors earlier in the day.

A letter to UVA Health faculty and staff says that Kent “offered, and President Ryan accepted, his resignation” after the meeting, when board members and President Jim Ryan “were briefed on the findings from the independent counsel’s investigation into UVA Health.”

The independent investigation followed a September 2024 letter of “no confidence” signed by 128 physicians that alleged Kent and Dr. Melina Kibbe, dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine, created a “culture of fear and retaliation” that “compromised patient safety.” The letter also accused the UVA Health leaders of “excessive spending on C-suite executives and support” and “failure to be forthcoming on significant financial matters.”

However, Ryan and some board members defended Kent and Kibbe from the accusations.

In an email sent to approximately 1,400 U.Va. medical school faculty members in September 2024, President Jim Ryan wrote, “The letter itself is daunting. There are many accusations. There are few details. Some of these accusations are fairly evident references to specific matters that we have already addressed or are actively working on. Others are new to us, but we will do our best to run them to the ground and get to the bottom of them. Even though it is difficult to investigate generalized and anonymous claims of wrongdoing, without specific details or names to follow up with, we will do our best to investigate.”

Global law firm Williams & Connolly’s Washington, D.C., office was hired to conduct the third-party investigation into the allegations in the letter, according to news reports in September 2024.

Dr. Mitch Rosner, a nephrologist and medicine professor at U.Va.’s medical school, will be acting executive vice president for health affairs, according to an email from Ryan and Rector Robert Hardie sent the evening of Feb. 25.

“The board and the president thank Dr. Kent for his years of service to the university,” the email reads.

Kent, a vascular surgeon, joined UVA Health in 2020, and in 2023, his contract was extended through 2030. In addition to leading the health system through the COVID pandemic, Kent helped establish the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, which broke ground in late 2023.