 
of Senior-Level Staff James Kimmey and Sandra Johnson Tapped for Top Posts |
University President Lawrence Biondi, SJ, has announced a reorganization of the senior-level administration designed to streamline the University structure and provide efficiencies on several management fronts.
Effective May 18, two senior management positions, both reporting to the president, were established. The two new positions are the University executive vice president and the University provost.
James R. Kimmey, M.D., has been appointed executive vice president and will direct all University operations supporting the academic and business services. These areas include legal services, facilities services, development and university relations, information technology, human resources, finance, and civic and governmental relations.
Sandra Johnson has been appointed provost on an interim basis and will be the chief academic officer of the University, supervising all academic, research and community service areas. Her responsibilities include recruitment and retention of students, financial aid, faculty governance liaison, promotion and tenure matters, and research administration.
Most recently, Kimmey served as vice president for health sciences and chief executive officer of SLUCare, a position he has held since 1993. He is the founder of the University's School for Public Health and served as the school's first dean. Kimmey was a key architect in the formation of SLUCare, the University's managed care division, and was instrumental in the development of the Health Sciences Center. He led the project that identified a network partner for the Health Sciences Center, Tenet Healthcare Corp., which recently purchased Saint Louis University Hospital.
Johnson has been a faculty member of the School of Law since 1978 and also holds faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. She has served as interim dean of the law school, director of the Center for Health Law Studies and as associate dean of academic affairs for the school. Her works are recognized nationwide by scholars and practitioners in legal and health care arenas. Johnson is a former president of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics.
"If we are to enter the next century as the leading institution we are becoming, then we must be sensitive to the changing expectations of students, parents and society, and we must organize in a way that allows us to respond to their needs and the changes coming in higher education in the information age," Biondi said.
As part of the restructuring, the positions of academic vice president and vice president for health sciences were dropped. This leaner structure, with fewer administrative levels, is designed to improve service and efficiency in working with students, faculty and the University's external constituencies. Michael Garanzini, SJ, who had held the position as academic vice president, announced his resignation earlier this spring for an appointment as a visiting professor at Fordham University. Dr. Richard Breslin, who had been serving in the combined position of executive vice president and provost, will join the University's department of education faculty.
"Although these changes are a break from the past, they also are a first step to restructuring the University for the next millennium," Biondi said. "The changes are, in my view, essential for the University to reach the next level."
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