Kenneth L. Cox has been named interim chair for the Department of Pediatrics effective Nov. 15, succeeding Harvey Cohen, who stepped aside from the chairmanship after 13 years to resume research and clinical work.

Dean Philip A. Pizzo, who praised Cohen’s leadership, said he has reactivated a search for a permanent chair after a candidate changed plans to come in December because of a family illness. Pizzo said he now expects a permanent chair to be named in time for a summer 2007 arrival.

Working with Cox, the dean said, will be Christy Sandborg, professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, who will serve as the interim chief of staff at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH). Pizzo noted in his Nov. 20 Dean’s Newsletter that Sandborg’s position will be formally announced by LPCH President and CEO Christopher Dawes. Pizzo said the decision to appoint a chief of staff separate from the chair - the two positions are usually linked - was made because of the breadth of Cox’s current responsibility. Cox, professor of pediatrics (gastroenterology) currently serves as the chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, associate chair of pediatrics, senior associate dean for pediatrics and obstetrics, and as chief medical officer at LPCH.

-Courtesy Dean Philip A. Pizzo
http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/archive/11_20_06.html