WittKieffer is proud to partner with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in their search for a visionary and accomplished Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of Medicine.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is a rapidly advancing public Carnegie R1 university with a strong and growing research and clinical mission. Located in one of the nation’s most dynamic and diverse metropolitan regions, UNLV is expanding its academic programs, research enterprise, and clinical operations while deepening its impact on the economic and social vitality of Southern Nevada.
Founded in 2014, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine was established to address Nevada’s longstanding shortage of physicians and to improve healthcare access and outcomes across the state. The School earned preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and accreditation from ACGME as a sponsoring institution in 2016, welcoming its charter class in 2017. Today, the School enrolls more than 250 students across 12 academic departments, supported by a growing faculty of nearly 700 academic, community, and administrative faculty, and is building a developing research enterprise aligned with its educational and clinical mission.
This position represents a unique opportunity to lead a growing academic health enterprise at a critical stage of development. The Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean serves in a dual role as chief executive officer of the School of Medicine and as a senior institutional leader responsible for advancing UNLV’s health strategy. Reporting jointly to the President and the Executive Vice President and Provost, this leader will align education, research, and clinical care while helping to shape a cohesive and sustainable model for academic medicine in Nevada.
A central priority for the role is the continued growth and integration of UNLV Health, the School’s clinical practice enterprise. Established in 2017, UNLV Health is a multi-specialty academic practice with nearly 120 faculty physicians and advanced practice providers and over 450 clinical and administrative staff. The enterprise serves as a critical platform for clinical training, workforce development, and patient care, and is positioned for significant expansion in specialty services, access, and operational performance. The Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean will also play a leading role in advancing the Academic Health Center initiative, working in close partnership with the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMC), the institution’s hospital partner, along with UNLV’s other health science colleges.
Financial sustainability and operational performance are central to this role. The successful candidate will bring strong business acumen and experience managing complex academic and clinical enterprises, including clinical revenue, state support, graduate medical education funding, and philanthropy. This leader will be expected to strengthen the clinical enterprise, grow revenue, and align resources to support continued expansion across education, research, and patient care.
The ideal candidate will hold an M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. with credentials appropriate for appointment as a tenured full professor and will be board certified or board eligible. They will bring substantial leadership experience in academic medicine or a related environment, including experience working with or leading a clinical enterprise, developing health system partnerships, and expanding graduate medical education programs. Demonstrated success managing large budgets, recruiting and retaining faculty and specialty physicians, and engaging external stakeholders, including health systems, government leaders, and community partners, is essential.
This is an opportunity for a strategic, entrepreneurial, and collaborative leader to build and lead an academic health enterprise in a region with significant need and opportunity. The successful candidate will help shape the future of healthcare delivery and medical education in Nevada while positioning UNLV as a national model for a community-responsive academic health system.
WittKieffer is assisting UNLV with this important recruitment. For confidential nominations or expressions of interest, please contact the search consultant team of Kimberly Smith, Zach Smith, Ph.D., and Alana Penley at UNLVDeanofMedicine@wittkieffer.com.
UNLV is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer Committed to Achieving Excellence Through Diversity.
