Press Release
March 28, 2007
Contact: Anna Farneski
Phone: (973) 972-3000
farnesam@umdnj.edu
Presidential Search Committee, UMDNJ
Community Voice Support for Owen
UMDNJ Faculty Backs New, Permanent President
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NEWARK — Members of the UMDNJ Presidential Search Committee and members of the University community expressed support for Dr. William F. Owen Jr., who was appointed the University’s fifth president at today’s special board meeting.
The panel of distinguished faculty and members of the UMDNJ community were appointed in August 2006 by the Board of Trustees to assist in the search and selection of UMDNJ’s new, permanent president. Dr. Harold T. Shapiro, Ph.D., a UMDNJ trustee and president emeritus and professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, led the effort.
"To the enormous satisfaction of the search committee, a considerable
number of highly qualified candidates demonstrated great interest in the
Presidency of UMDNJ,” said Dr. Shapiro. “Among these however, Dr. Owen's vision of what was possible for UMDNJ's future - coupled with his commitment to education, biomedical research, and community service - along with his demonstrated capacity for leadership in challenging situations, made him our first choice. More importantly our sense of excitement was echoed by the responses from students, faculty, and staff who met with Dr. Owen during his visits to campus. I look forward to working with Dr. Owen and other leaders throughout the UMDNJ community as we realize the full potential
of our institution."
The panel included the following individuals who offered the following about the selection of Dr. Owen:
David Gibson, Dean of UMDNJ’s School of Health Related Professions and professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at SHRP:
"I was very pleased with the number and quality of applications UMDNJ
received during this search; it speaks volumes as to how highly regarded
our University is across the country. Dr. Owen's selection as our next
President is a tremendous product of these efforts and he sees, as we
do, the strength that our statewide system of schools brings to students
and our citizens."
Dr. Carmen Ciervo, chairman and associate professor of the Department of Family Medicine at the UMDNJ - School of Osteopathic Medicine:
"Dr. Owen has extreme clarity of thought with regard to educational,
research, developmental, and perhaps most importantly, community service
issues that face UMDNJ. He embraces and encourages interdisciplinary
healthcare throughout all the University's schools."
Isaac Hopkins, a community member of UMDNJ’s Institutional Review Board for the past 16 years, is a Newark businessman:
"I am confident that Dr. Owen has the vision and credentials to lead the
University forward and achieve excellence in clinical care, education
and research."
Ann Stock, PhD, a faculty member at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Professor of Biochemistry at RWJMS and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute:
"I am proud to be associated with this search process, which has
recruited the university's first permanent president from outside of the
state. While there are certainly qualified leaders in New Jersey, at
this juncture in our history UMDNJ will benefit immensely from a fresh
perspective. Dr. Owen's enthusiasm and energy are infectious - they
will help usher in a new era of optimism.
Dr. Owen understands the value of openness and ongoing communications
with faculty. His style is one that should undoubtedly foster confidence
and trust."
Dr. Robert Johnson, Dean of UMDNJ’s New Jersey Medical School:
"The recruitment of Dr. Owen to the Presidency of UMDNJ is a bellwether
event in the history of our institution. Dr. Owen is an internationally
renowned scientist and a distinguished leader in medical education. The
extensiveness of this presidential search and the caliber of the
candidates we have attracted are clear indicators of our fundamental
strength and the quality of our educational, research and clinical
programs. The nationally recognized leadership that Dr. Owen will bring
to UMDNJ will ensure our emergence into a bright and promising future."
UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
