This story will be updated.
Dr. Shereef Elnahal, a former health official in the Biden administration, has been selected to become the next president of Oregon Health & Science University, university officials said Friday. The OHSU board will vote June 27 to formally confirm his hire.
Elnahal became the sole finalist earlier this month after the other finalist withdrew from consideration on the eve of a scheduled public presentation. Elnahal made his case to OHSU stakeholders June 5 — his birthday — telling them that OHSU faces problems, especially because of reduced federal support for medical research. But, he said, “these challenges aren’t insurmountable.”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said she supported the choice of Elnahal. Kotek had intervened in OHSU’s selection process last fall when she asked OHSU to conduct a national search instead of offering its presidency immediately to Dr. Nate Selden, OHSU School of Medicine dean.
“President-elect Dr. Shereef Elnahal has the experience and accomplishments to usher OHSU into the future and continue leading in health care, education and research,” she said, in a statement released by the university.
The previous president, Dr. Danny Jacobs, announced in October that he was resigning after six years in the position. The OHSU board sought to replace him with Selden the next day.
Elnahal has served in several roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs, most recently, as under secretary of health and chief executive of the Veterans Healthcare Administration. In that role, he oversaw the VA’s 1,507 health care facilities, including medical centers in Portland, Vancouver, Roseburg and White City.
He graduated in 2012 from Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School with degrees in medicine and business administration, became a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and, after serving on the transition team for incoming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, became that state’s commissioner of health in 2018.
According to Wikipedia, he is the son of physicians who moved to the United States from Egypt. He grew up in New Jersey.
In his presentation this month, Elnahal told OHSU stakeholders he would work “tirelessly to prevent the worst” from Washington, D.C., calling it his first order of business. He also said OHSU must deepen its ties to the community and said he would vigorously engage with staff, donors and others.
