|
Dear Wayne State University community,
Dr. Costello comes to us from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), where he served as the associate vice chancellor for interdisciplinary education and professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery. At Pitt, he transformed interprofessional education, redesigned the clinical enterprise and accelerated research activity. He also has a demonstrated record of improving community health and advancing collaboration in education. Dr. Costello brings over 20 years of experience leading efforts across six highly ranked health science schools and as a clinician-scientist at Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He has served as the chief of pediatric oral and maxillofacial surgery at the UPMC Children's Hospital and as a surgeon for the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team. He is a past president of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, and American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Dr. Costello has held leadership roles in academic and health care delivery across Pitt and UPMC, a $26 billion health system known worldwide for its innovation in the heart of a reinvigorated Midwestern city. His extensive and successful experience at a thriving, urban R1 university that has been a key driver in the social and economic success of the community translates well to the needs of Wayne State and metro Detroit. Through his efforts across health disciplines, he has built collaborations that produce exceptional outcomes for students, faculty, staff, patients and the broader community. Dr. Costello is dedicated to shared governance and is inspired to establish operational excellence and collaborative environments that empower teams to improve operations and create outstanding programs. As a funded principal investigator, collaborator and senior leader, Dr. Costello developed and led interdisciplinary research teams to create innovations in regenerative medicine, as well as new companies based on that technology. These collaborations and the vision for research excellence positioned his group and Pitt into the top five for NIH-funded research funding and overall school rankings in the top ten nationally and top 20 internationally. At Wayne State, Dr. Costello will lead our health sciences enterprise, and he will oversee, coordinate and support the university’s clinical relationships/affiliations, interprofessional education, and the activities of the School of Medicine, College of Nursing, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and our new School of Public Health, for which university-wide planning remains underway. The Division of Health Affairs is also home to other key cross-cutting and interdisciplinary functions, such as the Office of Women’s Health, as WSU strives to address the health concerns of our community and reduce persistent disparities in health outcomes endemic to our region. As senior vice president for health affairs, Dr. Costello will report directly to me; the deans of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and health sciences, and eventually public health will report to him. Dr. Mark Schweitzer will continue to coordinate the university-wide planning effort for the new public health school and will report to Dr. Costello until a founding dean is hired through a national search. Dr. Costello will coordinate on matters pertaining to faculty appointments, academic programs and standards, and student affairs with Dr. Laurie Lauzon Clabo, whose title has been modified to reflect her role as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. I recognize and thank the members of the search advisory committee, led by Dr. Boris Pasche and Dr. Debra Schutte, for their outstanding work in this campus-wide process. Thanks also to the many members of the Wayne State community who actively participated and provided feedback on this important search for our institution and community. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Costello to our campus and leadership team. His expertise and excitement for advancing education, improving health outcomes and conducting meaningful research in an urban environment is central to our Prosperity Agenda. With his leadership, we will harness our collective talents to overcome the challenges of today's health care landscape in our community and beyond. Sincerely,
Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D. |
|
Following the successful completion of an extensive national search, I am pleased to announce that we have found an exceptional leader to join us as our new senior vice president for health affairs, Bernard J. Costello, M.D., D.M.D. Pending a formal vote by the Board of Governors at its Dec. 11 meeting, Dr. Costello will start his Wayne State position in early 2025. 