Interim Chancellor Barbara F. Atkinson, MD
Barbara F. Atkinson, MD, will serve as the Interim Chancellor of the University of Kansas from July 1, 2009 through August 15, 2009, when Incoming Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little takes office as KU’s 17th Chancellor. Chancellor Robert Hemenway stepped down June 30 after 14 years at the helm to resume his teaching career and write a book.
About the office
The Chancellor is the chief executive officer of the University of Kansas, overseeing campuses in Lawrence, Kansas City, Overland Park and Wichita in addition to research and educational centers in Topeka, Hutchinson, Parsons and elsewhere in the state.
Atkinson will continue to serve as the Executive Vice Chancellor of the KU Medical Center and as the Executive Dean of the KU School of Medicine. She was the first woman in the country to hold both positions at a medical center, and is the first woman to serve as interim chancellor at KU. She will return to her duties at the medical center upon the arrival of the new chancellor and has declined any additional compensation for her temporary role.
At the medical center, she oversees the education of 3,000 students, as well as 2,500 faculty and staff and a budget of $225 million. She joined KU in 2000, was named executive dean in 2002, and has served as executive vice chancellor since 2005.
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