Search for the Director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

UC San Diego is pleased to invite nominations and applications for the position of Director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion. Jeff Daskalakis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, has agreed to chair the Search Advisory Committee, whose members are listed below.

UC San Diego seeks in its Sanford Institute Director an inspirational scientific leader with a deep research background and proven administrative experience to work closely with faculty, staff, and administrators within the Sanford Institute and beyond, fostering excellence in research and discovery, addressing physician burnout, informing the medical curriculum on empathy and compassion, and community outreach and service. The director leads the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, providing overall strategic and intellectual direction for the Institute’s research programs, administrative structure, allocation of financial resources, and reviews of multidisciplinary education, wellness, and research efforts. The incumbent is responsible for creating and sustaining productive relationships with leaders across UC San Diego to ensure that Institute program initiatives are informed by and address the needs of those in the Health Sciences as well as the campus at large. The director builds bridges with institutions in California and beyond to facilitate scaling and dissemination of Institute programs targeting empathy and compassion to enhance the lives of medical students, residents, medical faculty, and the patients they serve. In so doing, the director enhances the visibility of the Institute and its activities regionally, nationally and internationally. The director works closely with each of the Institute’s six centers to provide strategic guidance, align programmatic activity, ensure proper financial stewardship, and evaluate outcomes of goals and milestones.

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, with secondary reporting to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the director partners with academic and clinical leaders to guide research and care in the Health Sciences, and provides advice and counsel to campus- and University-level committees, as appropriate. The director chairs the Sanford Institute Executive Council and leads the External Advisory Board, which advises on programmatic plans within the Institute and provides oversight and coordination of programs and research activities to ensure efficiency and transparency. In overseeing the activities of the Center for Research in empathy and compassion, the director ensures transparency and fairness in all research activities and establishes and supports the Scientific Review Board and its panel of multidisciplinary experts who review and guide the research direction of the Institute.

Interested candidates must provide a letter of interest, current CV, and statement of contributions to diversity to the Search Advisory Committee via Kareen Escobedo at kaescobedo@health.ucsd.edu. Materials must be submitted by Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. The committee will begin reviewing candidates immediately thereafter, and will continue until the position is filled.

John M. Carethers
Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences

MEMBERS OF THE SEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE DIRECTOR OF THE SANFORD INSTITUTE OF EMPATHY AND COMPASSION:

Jeff Daskalakis (Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry) Chair
Cinnamon Bloss (Professor, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science)
Linda Brubaker (Clinical Professor, Ob/Gyn & Reproductive Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Mariana Cherner (Professor In Residence, Psychiatry)
Julie Freeman (Executive Officer, Sanford Institute of Empathy and Compassion) Staff Consultant
Kama Guluma (Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs and Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine)
Evonne Kaplan-Liss (Clinical Professor, Pediatrics)
Douglas Nitz (Professor and Chair of Cognitive Science)
Jair Siqueria-Neto (Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science)

Position Description

Strategic Planning

Sets the overarching vision for the Sanford Institute to increase its leadership in empathy and compassion research, medical curriculum, and physician wellness.
Leads long-range strategic planning efforts, including implementation and evaluation processes, in alignment with UC San Diego Health Sciences tripartite mission.
Identifies areas of strategic investment that advance the Center’s strengths in research discovery leading to novel training and interventions to advance empathy and compassion.
Establishes partnerships with key external academic, research, and health organizations, locally and nationally as well as internationally, to expand the Sanford Institute brand.
Leads efforts to launch new programs and/or initiatives to advance UC San Diego Health Sciences’ national and international prominence in education, research, and physician wellness for empathy and compassion.
Identifies areas of synergy between the Institute and campus units that would foster academic excellence and scientific creativity related to the institute’s mission.
Establishes internal and external multidisciplinary relationships with the national and international research community to foster collaborative research opportunities in both basic and applied research of empathy and compassion.
Builds collaborations between scientists and educators to incorporate more effective training strategies into the curriculum at UC San Diego, providing future doctors with enhanced tools to harness their skills in compassionately caring for patients.
Works with external institutions in building partnerships to scale programmatic efforts created and developed at Sanford Institute.
Establishes internal and external multidisciplinary relationships with the national and international research community to foster collaborative research opportunities in both basic and applied research of empathy and compassion.

Administrative Management

Partners with academic and clinical leaders across the Health Sciences and UC San Diego campus to implement new programs, coordinate and evaluate empathy and compassion research outcomes.
In partnership with the Institute Center Directors, fosters innovative program and research methodologies and opportunities across multidisciplinary areas.
Working with the Office of Advancement team, builds relationships with the philanthropic community to secure gifts toward empathy and compassion education, research, and/or physician wellness.
Maintains overall accountability for the development and adherence of the Sanford Institute budget to ensure organizational fiscal standards and expectations are met.
Identifies gaps in faculty knowledge and expertise.
Facilitates recruitment of talent to advance Sanford Institute mission.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Demonstrated dynamic leadership skills with a high level of conceptual and strategic thinking.
Personal record of distinguished neurosciences research (basic, translational, and/or clinical) supported by a record of consistent federal (e.g. NIH, NSF) and private (e.g. foundation) funding such that the candidate qualifies for appointment as a Full Professor at UC San Diego.
Demonstrated commitment to neurosciences research with evidence of the ability to effectively collaborate with investigators at UC San Diego as well as other US and international institutions.
Demonstrated commitment to contributing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as a commitment to advancing these principles within the Institute.
Terminal degree (MD, MD/PhD, PhD, PharmD, DrPH, etc.). If appropriate, certification required to practice in the state of California and eligible for a professional licensure in California.

Preferred Qualifications

Candidates must have a broad set of important skills to be successful as Director. While no one person is expected to possess them all, the successful candidate will embody many of the following qualifications and attributes:

Outstanding academic record with experience as an effective senior administrator in an academic medical center environment.
Demonstrated success in managing and leading a complex organization undergoing significant and persistent change, with the ability to innovate and generate new ideas.
Demonstrated experience managing a unit’s financial resources including; operating within a defined budget, reviewing financial analyses and plans, and providing regular reports to institutional leadership.
Demonstrated success in enhancing the research agenda of an academic unit or program, in responding to faculty needs and building environments that enhance research innovation, and in building programs and environments that enhance research productivity.
Demonstrated ability to build a sense of community and to actively engage faculty, staff, students, and alumni in support of a shared strategic vision.
Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills; the ability to listen attentively to varied perspectives and foster a supportive and collaborative working environment.
A collegial, consultative management style, with the ability to be strong and decisive while also taking into account the needs and perspectives of faculty, staff, and students.
The ability to collaborate and to delegate along with the ability to make difficult and timely decisions based on well-considered input.
A history of fostering career development for early and mid-stage faculty across multiple disciplines.
The ability to represent the Sanford Institute and UC San Diego effectively; to build strong relationships with internal and external constituents, to be an effective advocate for the Sanford Institute and the advancement of the profession.
A high level of integrity and professionalism, and a commitment to support the professional development of faculty and staff.