Transition in CUIMC Senior Leadership

Dear CUIMC community,

This is a time of change and transition at the medical center. We are in the midst of reimagining curriculums, strengthening support for the remarkable clinicians in our growing faculty practice, finding new ways to engage and support our northern Manhattan community, and expanding physical infrastructure through the design and construction of two major new buildings on our campus. The belief in this institution displayed by all those participating in these activities, and their commitment to innovation in service of sustaining our excellence, say much about the character of CUIMC. It is an exciting moment in the long life of this institution, full of great promise and opportunity.

Essential to advancing each of these initiatives are the collective efforts of CUIMC’s senior administrators. As I announced in June, Donna Lynne, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and CEO of ColumbiaDoctors, will be returning to Colorado at the end of this month to become CEO of Denver Health and Hospital Authority. I am grateful to Jack Cioffi, MD, for taking over Donna’s portfolio as CEO of ColumbiaDoctors on an interim basis effective September 19, on top of his current responsibilities as President of ColumbiaDoctors. Jack will remain in this role until we fill the new position of CEO of ColumbiaDoctors and Senior Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs, which I will be addressing in a separate communication very soon. Going forward, Chad Neal, Chief Information Officer, will report to Wil McKoy, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Wil, too, deserves our gratitude for all he does and for shouldering these expanded responsibilities.

The new team reporting directly to me will include Ross Frommer, Vice President, Government and Community Affairs; Neil McClure, Chief Human Resources Officer; and Scott Schell, Chief Communications Officer. Neil rejoined CUIMC after serving for a time as head of human resources for the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Scott also came to us from the Morningside campus where he was the University’s Vice President for Public Affairs; both joined us this summer. Ross has deeper roots here, having been at CUIMC for 21 years. They each will be playing critical roles on my leadership team.

This is a group that comes to work each morning responsible for supporting the best possible environment for the teaching, research, patient care and community engagement that define who we are. I am grateful for their dedication and for the essential support they provide to students, faculty and staff. Please join me in thanking them for their efforts.

All my best,

Katrina Armstrong, MD
Chief Executive Officer, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons