Leadership profile: Chair, Department of Pediatrics

The opportunity

The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health promotes and enhances the health of children through outstanding clinical care, exemplary education of pediatric trainees, performance of cutting-edge research, and vigorous advocacy.

A key feature of the department is its institutional setting within a top-tier university and the nation’s first School of Medicine and Public Health. The department’s 200 faculty, and numerous staff, residents, and fellows cover 17 subspecialty divisions. The department provides world-class care for children through a variety of specialized clinical programs and a comprehensive children’s cancer center, pediatric asthma center, and pediatric heart program.

Clinical care is provided chiefly at the renowned American Family Children’s Hospital, as well as at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital; SSM Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital; Waisman Center clinics focused on medical genetics and developmental, neuromotor, and autism care; five primary care clinics; and multiple outreach clinics in Wisconsin and Illinois.

The department’s research spans basic, translational, and clinical areas that aim to generate new knowledge to improve the health of children. Investigators focus on newborn screening, obesity and diabetes, upper respiratory infections, asthma and allergic diseases, cancer, children with medical complexity, brain injury, global health, immunizations, social media and digital health, and more.

Over the last 15 years, the department has experienced expansive growth — more than doubling its faculty and growing extramural research funding by more than 300% — and is well poised to continue to expand the boundaries of excellence.

Its education programs meet the needs of learners at all levels: undergraduates, medical students, residents, fellows, postgraduate trainees, and practicing healthcare professionals. Advocacy and outreach are imbued throughout the department, including in the residency curriculum. The department believes children are the world’s most precious resource and this ethos powers its positive culture where people and ideas thrive.

The chair will be an innovative and strong leader and a highly respected individual in the field of pediatrics. They will possess a commitment to diversity and inclusion and will advance the department’s culture of teamwork and collaboration, positioning the department to be a community and institutional leader.

Organization overview

UW–Madison

“For me, the Wisconsin Idea is the clear vision for what a public university is and should be. I want to celebrate it as a national and even global model for why public universities matter. It’s my goal to keep our teaching, research, and outreach missions strong, to support our students, and to make the university a more diverse and inclusive place to live, learn, and work.” — Jennifer L. Mnookin, Chancellor

Since 1848, this campus has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and one of the most prolific research institutions in the world, UW–Madison is home to those who are driven by a desire to both explore new worlds and to apply new ideas to real-world problems.

With a total annual budget of over $3.1 billion, including more than $1 billion in annual research expenditures, UW–Madison has been in the top 10 in national research spending every year since 1972. The campus is home to more than 23,000 faculty and staff and 45,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree students. Members of the student body represent all 50 states and 127 countries. The university is ranked 26th worldwide by the Center for World University Rankings and 13th among public U.S. universities in the 2021 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings.

The Wisconsin Idea — the principle that the university should improve people’s lives beyond the classroom — has been guiding the efforts of UW–Madison Badgers for more than a century. The university has been dedicated to studying poverty and social inequity for 50 years, is ranked #1 among large schools for producing Peace Corps volunteers, and boasts 19 Nobel Prize winners among its faculty and alumni.

School of Medicine and Public Health

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is recognized as an international, national, and statewide leader in education, research, and service. Founded in 1907, it transformed into the nation’s first School of Medicine and Public Health in 2005 to integrate the principles and power of interwoven medical and public health approaches in all of its missions.

Powered by more than 5,500 employees, including over 2,000 faculty, the school’s engagement spans the entire state of Wisconsin and includes a deep commitment to improvement of the health of the population. This commitment manifests itself in innovative models that serve as paradigms for the rest of the country.

Members of the school rapidly translate discovery into application and continually foster synergies between clinical care, education, and research. Consistently ranked among the nation’s top medical schools, SMPH has established high-performance academic programs that are intentionally distributed across the entire spectrum of academic medicine. Its faculty members hold appointments in 27 departments—17 in the clinical sciences and 10 in the basic sciences. The faculty is composed of some of the nation’s leading researchers, educators, and clinicians. This includes several National Medal of Science recipients and National Academy of Science honorees.

Mission and values

UW SMPH strives to carry out its mission of advancing health and health equity through remarkable service to patients and communities, outstanding education, and innovative research. It upholds the values of integrity and accountability, compassion, diversity, equity and inclusivity, and excellence. The school’s Shared Guidelines for Professional Conduct help the SMPH community embody these values in their daily activities.

Fostering a diverse and inclusive community is important both as an end in itself and also as a valuable driver of eliminating health disparities. The school strives to be comprised of a diverse, inclusive academic community committed to excellence and equity in health; wellness through teaching and learning, clinical service, and advocacy; and research in all forms of biological science, population health science, and health care.

SMPH is dedicated to creating an inclusive, collaborative, respectful, and welcoming environment in which all faculty, students, and staff will thrive. This effort is referred to as Building Community, and includes a call to action for every SMPH member to examine not only our intent, but our impact—“Every Person. Every Action. Every Time.”

UW Health

UW Health is the integrated health system of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, serving more than 600,000 patients each year in the Upper Midwest and beyond with 1,750 physicians and 21,000 staff at seven hospitals and more than 80 outpatient sites. UW Health is governed by the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority and partners with UW School of Medicine and Public Health to fulfill patient care, research, education and community service missions.

UW Health Hospitals, which includes both University Hospital on the UW–Madison campus and UW Health at The American Center on the east side of Madison, has been ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin for nine years in a row by U.S. News and World Report. University Hospital is one of only 25 U.S. hospitals named to Newsweek’s “Top 100 Global” list, which includes hospitals in 11 countries around the world. American Family Children’s Hospital is also nationally ranked as a top children’s hospital.

UW Health has been designated by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality in the Healthcare Equality Index.

UW Health Kids

The UW Health Kids brand includes all UW Health pediatric services, programs, and locations, including American Family Children’s Hospital and partners and clinic locations across Wisconsin, Illinois, and the region.

American Family Children’s Hospital

The American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) opened in 2007 as a free-standing, state-of-the-art facility designed around the needs of children and their families. The hospital is a comprehensive pediatric medical and surgical center staffed by nationally recognized faculty who provide world-class care for a wide range of specialties. The hospital offers care in a modern facility with advanced technology that is also a national model for family-centered care. As of 2021, its resources include 111 beds, a 26-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a 21-bed pediatric intensive care unit. American Family Children’s Hospital was ranked among the top 50 children’s hospitals in six medical and surgical specialties in U.S. News and World Report’s 2018-2019 Best Children’s Hospitals Guide.

Department of Pediatrics

The Department of Pediatrics is a local, regional, and national leader in pediatric clinical care, research, and education. Its vision is to provide the safest, highest quality, most innovative and coordinated care in an environment that supports inquiry and discovery and promotes well-being and professionalism.

Vice chairs, division chiefs, directors, and administrators provide leadership of the department, in partnership with the chair. The department’s 17 divisions span immunology, child protection, gastroenterology, global pediatrics, general pediatrics, critical care, genetics, nephrology, and more. The department has 200 faculty members, 63% of which are women.

The department’s renowned care programs include:

• Pediatric Asthma and Allergy Program: Providers are focused on discovering and improving therapies for childhood allergies and asthma to improve the quality of life for children and their families. Faculty are internationally recognized and lead some of the premier research programs in the U.S., including the Children’s Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup and the Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings multicenter studies.
• Pediatric Cancer Program: The children’s cancer center is part of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, one of a small number of select centers nationwide designated by the National Cancer Institute to be comprehensive. Several highly specialized treatments for pediatric cancers were developed here and are offered at AFCH. UW–Madison is one of nine worldwide programs that comprise the Pediatric Cancer Dream Team.
• Pediatric Heart Program: The pediatric cardiology and heart surgery program at AFCH was ranked among the top 50 specialties in children’s hospitals throughout the country by U.S. News and World Report in 2020. The children’s hospital is a national leader in ensuring minimal radiation exposure for children undergoing procedures.
• Care for Children with Medical Complexity: Children with complex medical conditions comprise a growing group of patients with multiple serious medical issues. Department faculty members recognized the unique needs of this patient population and spearheaded the design of a comprehensive program to provide multidisciplinary care coordination for these children. The innovative care model established by the program has resulted in excellent clinical outcomes while generating significant health care savings per year.
• Pediatric Hospital Medicine Program: Recognizing the importance of providing coordinated patient- and family-centered care, robust inpatient educational experiences for trainees, and a scholarly approach to hospital-based pediatrics, the department has fostered the growth of an accomplished academic pediatric hospital medicine division.
• Level III & IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): In addition to the 55-bed level III NICU at UnityPoint Health-Meriter, a new Level IV NICU opened at AFCH in 2014. The unit, which recently expanded from 14 to 26 beds, provides state-of-the-art care for some of the patients with high medical complexity. Providers care for premature and full-term infants who require complex surgical interventions and medical treatments.

The department’s basic, translational, and clinical research programs have continued to grow exponentially. In FY21, the department had over $49 million in research support, more than 70% of which came from the National Institutes of Health. The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research ranked the department 13^th nationally in FY20 for NIH research funding of medical school pediatric departments. Laboratories are primarily located at University Hospital in the Clinical Science Center on the fourth, fifth and ninth floors, with other locations in the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, Waisman Center, UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, UW Health Science Dr Medical Center, and the Microbial Sciences Building.

The department engages medical students in the MD curriculum and electives. It also annually trains 48 residents and fellows through 12 ACGME-accredited fellowship programs. Medium-sized resident classes allow for relationship-building and mentorship that prepares highly skilled pediatricians who are critical thinkers, caregivers, and leaders. A long-standing and nationally recognized pediatric global health track has enriched the training of approximately one-third of the pediatric residents each year. Diverse sub-specialty fellowship programs give fellows superb clinical training and the opportunity to work with research mentors in basic science, clinical research, and health services research.

In addition to daily bedside and outpatient clinical advocacy for individual patients, providers practice broader advocacy activities as well. The department is involved in advocacy of child wellbeing at the community, and professional levels and in the media. Members also partner with the institution’s legislative affairs professionals on issues of importance to pediatrics.

Qualifications and attributes of leadership

The successful candidate will have a compelling vision for the future of pediatrics in a leading public academic institution and medical center. The chair will possess proven leadership and management skills as well as an outstanding academic background and dedication to furthering diversity of the faculty, staff, and students in the department and establishing an inclusive work environment. The chair will provide strategic, academic, and administrative leadership of the highest quality to this distinguished department in its patient care, research, teaching, and service missions.

Applicants must have a MD, MD/PhD, DO or equivalent degree(s); board-certified; eligibility for a Wisconsin Physician license; have a substantial record of achievement in administrative leadership, clinical care, teaching across the full continuum of learners; and a strong academic background that would qualify for appointment as a tenured professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The community

Located on an isthmus between two lakes, Madison is the capital city of the state of Wisconsin. Madison has been voted:

• No. 1 Best Place to Live (Liveability, 2021)
• No. 1 City for Most Successful Women Per Capita (Forbes, 2019)
• No. 1 City for Best Work-Life Balance (SmartAsset, 2020)
• No. 8 Best Area for STEM Professionals (WalletHub, 2020)
• No. 2 Best State to Practice Medicine (WalletHub, 2020)
• No. 2 Best City for Biking (People for Bikes, 2020)
• No. 2 Most Walkable City (Expedia, 2018)
• No. 4 Fittest City in the U.S. (ACSM American Fitness Index, 2020)
• No. 5 Best City for Young Professionals (Forbes, 2016)
• No. 1 Best Place in the U.S. for Raising Children (DiversityDataKids.com 2020)
• No. 1 Best College Football Town in America (Sports Illustrated, 2019).

Madison’s technology economy is growing rapidly, and the region is home to the headquarters of Epic Systems, Exact Sciences, American Family Insurance, American Girl, Sub-Zero, and Lands’ End, as well as many biotech, healthcare IT, and health systems startups.

The city of Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Madison acknowledge that they occupy ancestral Ho-Chunk land. The School of Medicine and Public Health recognizes the health inequities faced by Native communities and pledges to learn more and take action across all of its missions.

Madison is the second largest city in the state, with a city population of approximately 260,000 and regional population of over 1 million. The city is within easy driving range of Chicago and Milwaukee. Madison offers numerous unique neighborhoods and commercial areas including the Capitol Square, State Street, Willy Street, Shorewood Hills, Maple Bluff, and Hilldale. Suburbs and surrounding smaller communities include Sun Prairie, Middleton, McFarland, Verona, Cottage Grove, Waunakee, and Fitchburg.

Madison is home to one of the strongest local food scenes in the country with several James Beard Award winners, gastropubs, and farm-to-table restaurants. From April to October, the Capitol Square hosts the impressive Dane County Farmers’ Market, the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the country. The city is rich with cultural offerings such as the Overture Center for the Performing Arts, Orpheum Theatre, Concerts on the Square, Jazz at Five, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music and Hamel Music Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, Madison Ballet, UW–Madison Chazen Museum of Art, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Wisconsin Historical Museum, and Madison Children’s Museum, among others.

The city has a dedicated athletics fanbase which largely centers around the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Sports venues include Camp Randall Stadium, the Kohl Center, LaBahn Arena, Wisconsin Field House, and the Alliant Energy Center. Madison is home to Forward Madison FC, the first professional soccer team in the city, as well as the Madison Mallards, a college wood-bat summer baseball league team. Marquee endurance sports and specialty sporting events include IronMan Wisconsin and IronMan 70.3, Reebok CrossFit Games, Madison Marathon, and many national and international championship competitions.

Application process

Nominations

Please send nominations to:

Lynn Schnapp, MD, and David Gamm, MD, PhD, co-chairs of the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics Search Committee
c/o Benjamin Schultz-Burkel, DMA
4299C HSLC, 750 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI, 53705-2111
drbenjamin.schultzburkel@wisc.edu

Applications

To apply, please visit the UW-Madison jobs website, using the "apply now" button below. Applicants will be asked to upload a CV and personal statement/cover letter.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has a deep and profound commitment to diversity both as an end in itself but also as a valuable means for eliminating health disparities. As such, we strongly encourage applications from candidates who foster and promote the values of a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist workplace.  

Applications from Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals, LGBTQ+ and non-binary identities, women, persons with disabilities, military service members, and veterans are strongly encouraged.

Deadline

To receive full consideration, please apply by Jan. 9, 2022.

Confidentiality

Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding applicants must be released upon request. Finalists cannot be guaranteed confidentiality. Wisconsin Caregiver Law applies. The University of Wisconsin is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Apply now