University of Illinois administrator named hospital CEO

“While shifts in the health care environment pose many significant challenges for the hospital, I am confident that we will find the strength to continue on this mission with excellence,” says new hospital CEO Avijit Ghosh. Photo: Chris Brown (click on image for larger file size)

Avijit Ghosh, a top University of Illinois administrator who helped lead a recent review of the university’s health care enterprise, was named chief executive officer of the University of Illinois Hospital.

The appointment is pending approval by the Board of Trustees at its meeting Thursday in Chicago.

Ghosh, a former dean and vice president who is senior adviser to U of I President Robert Easter, would head the university’s hospital and clinics in Chicago and serve as the university’s associate vice president for hospital operations.

A reorganization plan that aligns the hospital, clinics and seven health science colleges under one campus leadership structure  was approved by trustees in March.

Jerry Bauman, interim vice president for health affairs, said Ghosh’s background in business and organization are well-suited to lead the hospital and clinics as the new federal Affordable Care Act alters the model for health care delivery.

“Dr. Ghosh is extremely well-versed in the complexities of U.S. health care and the challenges facing the university’s health care enterprise, and has built strong working relationships with faculty and staff,” Bauman said.

Ghosh, professor of business administration on the Urbana-Champaign campus, was dean of the College of Business there from 2001 to 2008. He was university vice president for technology and economic development from 2008 to 2011.

Ghosh said the hospital and clinics are critical to the university’s educational mission and its commitment to serve the people of Illinois.

“For more than a century, the university’s health care enterprise has provided care to the community with excellence and compassion,” he said. “While shifts in the health care environment pose many significant challenges for the hospital, I am confident that we will find the strength to continue on this mission with excellence.”

Ghosh earned his bachelor’s degree from Calcutta University, a post-graduate diploma in business management from Xavier Institute and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa. Before joining the U of I in 2001, he was a faculty member and senior administrator at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Ghosh would begin his new duties Aug. 16, replacing Bryan Becker, who resigned effective Aug. 15 for a new position at the University of Chicago.