U.Va. medical school dean set to leave for new job

Dr. Melina Kibbe, the University of Virginia‘s medical school dean and chief health affairs officer at UVA Health, is the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, UTHealth announced this week.

Kibbe has been at U.Va. since 2021. Her tenure at U.Va. has been challenging, as both she and Dr. K. Craig Kent were subject of a vote of “no confidence” by 128 physicians in 2024, who called for their resignations. Kent resigned as CEO of UVA Health in February, following a closed-session meeting of the U.Va. Board of Visitors.

Kibbe remained in place, although a false letter of resignation made the rounds around the same period, forcing UVA Health head Dr. Mitch Rosner to state publicly that it was a hoax.

In response to UTHealth’s announcement Monday, Rosner released this statement: “During her tenure as dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer for UVA Health, Dr. Melina R. Kibbe has played a vital role in crafting and advancing UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan, which seeks to expand UVA Health’s biomedical research enterprise and make U.Va. the nation’s top public academic health system.

“We are excited that Dean Kibbe has been named the sole finalist for the presidency of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and we wish her well as the hiring process moves forward.”

A vascular surgeon who researches novel therapies for vascular disease, Kibbe said in a statement provided by UTHealth, “It’s an extraordinary honor to be named as sole finalist for the presidency at UTHealth Houston, an institution that stands at the forefront of health education, research and patient care. UTHealth Houston is uniquely positioned to shape the future of health care in Texas and beyond.”

She remains the sole finalist during a state-required 21-day waiting period before officially being named president.

In the 128 faculty members’ letter to the U.Va. board, Kent and Kibbe were accused of creating 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.”

Then-President Jim Ryan and members of the UVA Health board defended Kibbe and Kent, but the university hired a law firm to perform a third-party investigation into the letter’s allegations. Following the investigation, Kent resigned. In April, a group of 21 doctors released a letter saying that some current and former board members “advanced a false narrative” that the 128 physicians who called for Kent and Kibbe to resign in 2023 were “motivated by greed.”

U.Va. did not yet disclose who will serve in Kibbe’s position when she leaves, nor what the timeline will be for a search for her replacement. Currently, U.Va.’s president, UVA Health’s CEO and U.Va.’s provost posts are all filled on an interim basis, following Ryan’s resignation in June and former Provost Ian Baucom’s departure to become president of Middlebury College.

Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, the university’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, is U.Va.’s acting president, until the board of visitors names a longer-term interim president to serve until a permanent replacement for Ryan is in place. On Tuesday, the board announced it is seeking suggestions from university community members for the interim president, in a portal that will remain open until July 25.