VCU news

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health System today announced that Arthur L. Kellermann, M.D., will serve as senior vice president for health sciences at VCU and CEO of VCU Health System, effective Oct. 1. 

Kellermann will lead Virginia’s most comprehensive academic health sciences enterprise, which consists of the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry; the College of Health Professions; VCU Health System hospitals and outpatient clinics including VCU Medical Center, which has consistently been ranked the top hospital in the region and serves as the state’s largest safety net hospital; the physician practice plan; the Massey Cancer Center; and Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. 

Kellermann currently serves as dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, which is the leadership academy for military health and the U.S. Public Health Service. Kellermann has served in that role since 2013.

Kellermann previously held the Paul O’Neill Alcoa Chair in Policy Analysis at the Rand Corp., an independent, nonprofit research organization. Prior to that, he was professor of emergency medicine and public health at Emory University, where at various points he served as founding director of the Emory Center for Injury Control, founding chair of Emory’s Department of Emergency Medicine and later, associate dean for health policy at the Emory School of Medicine.

“Art Kellermann is the ideal combination of one of the nation's top medical academics as well as an astute and effective administrator. He has a strong record of being an effective leader who can articulate an inspiring vision and put it into action, executing the policies and practices that benefit the institution and its people — patients, students, team members,” said Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health System. “Art will be instrumental in creating alignment and connectivity between our academic disciplines and the health system to enhance education, research and clinical care.

“He will be a solid partner in our quest to be at the highest levels of health systems in the country for safety, quality and patient satisfaction,” Rao said.

Kellermann holds career achievement awards from two fields — injury control and emergency medicine. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, he becomes the first person in this senior vice president/CEO role at VCU to also be a member of the academy. He has served on several National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees addressing a wide range of topics including the prevention and control of violent behavior, the consequences of uninsurance, health promotion, biodefense and the future of emergency care. From 2013-16, he served on the National Academy of Medicine’s Governing Council. Kellermann is board certified in the fields of internal and emergency medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Physicians.

“I am drawn to VCU because of its commitment to the community, the commonwealth and our country. It is an institution that is open to all and plays a pivotal role in the delivery of health care with unique and critical services,” Kellermann said. “I am excited to work with the high caliber of students, staff and faculty at the university and its health system — people who strive to make a difference. Given the breadth of talent across the university and its health system, the potential for VCU to advance health and health care is limitless.” 

Kellermann has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications on public health, health policy, emergency care, injury prevention and military health. He is the senior editor of “Out of the Crucible: How the U.S. Military Transformed Combat Casualty Care in Iraq and Afghanistan,” a medical history book developed with the support of the Army’s Borden Institute and released by the U.S. Government Publishing Office in December 2017.

Kellermann holds a Bachelor of Science with distinction in biology from Rhodes College, a Doctor of Medicine from Emory University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington. 

Peter F. Buckley, M.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine and VCU Health executive vice president for medical affairs, has served as interim senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of VCU Health System since January and will continue in the role until Kellermann arrives.

“I’d like to thank Dr. Peter Buckley for his extraordinary leadership in serving in this role on an interim basis, while also maintaining his role as dean of the VCU School of Medicine,” Rao said. “His commitment to VCU and VCU Health is exceptional — coming as our community and the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.”