After 18 months of unsuccessful efforts to recruit a new Dean of Medicine, McGill University is striking a new advisory committee to help with the search.
In a memo to the university community, Interim Provost Anthony Masi stresses that the original committee “worked extremely hard” but also acknowledged the search was “inconclusive” and referred to “certain difficulties.”
Although the committee screened more than 200 qualified applications, both internal and external, “we're not sure the fit was right,” Masi told CMAJ. “It's a question of due diligence, rather than not being able to find the right person.”
The unique requirements of the job include working closely with the Quebec government and local health networks and involvement in hospital projects. Bilingualism is extremely important, Masi says.
McGill may be drawing from the same pool of candidates as the University of Toronto; its current Dean of Medicine, Dr. David Naylor, leaves Oct. 1 to become the university's president. However, Masi says he does not believe this will prove to be a major obstacle.
“This is the most exciting province in the country in which to work,” Masi says, given the health care reforms Quebec is undertaking.
McGill hopes to select a new dean within the 2005–06 academic year, he says. Current Dean Dr. Abraham Fuks has agreed to extend his term until the university confirms a replacement.