CCHS - Associate Professor/Full Professor and Chair, Department of Family, Internal, & Rural Medicine– Tenure/Tenure Track - 525800

Department/Organization
208131 - Family Internal & Rural Med FIRM

Rank
Associate/Full Professor

Position Summary
The College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS) at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa welcomes applications and nominations for the position of Chair of the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine (FIRM). This is a unique opportunity for an innovative, energetic, and collaborative family medicine, internal medicine, or internal medicine-pediatrics physician to play a leadership role in one of the fastest growing colleges of the flagship University. FIRM accounts for more than half of the Foundation’s revenue and includes 43 Family Medicine and Internal Medicine physician faculty and a core interdisciplinary faculty of 50 others in the specialties of OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Psychology, Sports Medicine, Surgery, Neurology, Social Work, Education, Library Science, Clinical Pharmacy, Nursing, Nutrition, and Population Health. All faculty are dedicated to family medicine residency and fellowship education, the general professional education of medical students in Heersink School of Medicine Primary Care Track and Rural Medical Scholars Program that features a third-year longitudinal curriculum, and the research and scholarship of primary care and community-based population health. 

Detailed Position Information
The FIRM Chair will play a senior leadership role in the College and hold an adjunct appointment with the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine (HSOM). The chair of FIRM will report to the Dean of CCHS and will oversee its fully-accredited residency program in Family Medicine (The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency), Family Medicine fellowship programs, Family and Internal Medicine clerkships, rural pipeline programs, supporting ambulatory and hospitalist patient care programs, and activities in collaboration with the division faculty leadership. The Chair is also responsible for the financial management of FIRM, faculty recruitment, retention and development, and providing appropriate resources to support and advance the Department’s education and research initiatives.

CCHS seeks a dynamic, visionary, and collaborative primary care physician leader with a strong record of fostering cutting-edge teaching, strengthening a broad variety of underserved community programs, partnering with community-based agencies, and building research. This individual will serve as the external representative and advocate for the Department and provide thought leadership in the field of family and rural medicine nationally. Reporting to the Dean, the successful candidate must hold an MD or DO and be Board Certified in their field. The key opportunities and challenges facing the next Chair include crafting a dynamic, actionable, and forward-thinking strategic vision for the department; recruiting, retaining, and developing skilled, productive, and culturally proficient faculty and staff; forging strong external clinical partnerships; growing impactful research; as well as sustaining and enhancing educational excellence.
The faculty search committee will review candidates beginning immediately and will continue until the position has been filled.

The Department Chair is a member of the senior leadership of CCHS and reports directly to Dean, Dr. Richard Friend. The Chair is responsible for the comprehensive leadership, management, and stewardship of the Department's mission, related to patient care services, education, and research. The Chair is responsible for maintaining standards of excellence in these missions and for allocating departmental resources to achieve the objectives of both the clinical and the academic enterprises.
The Chair will oversee department of more than 45 faculty including adjunct faculty staff physicians and a senior leadership team consisting of the Residency Director, Rural Programs Director, Fellowship Directors, Hospitalist director and FIRM Administrator. The Department’s FY 2024 revenues exceeded $14 million and the total departmental budget was $15 million.
CCHS has a history of deep commitment to teaching, research, and health promotion with and for Alabama’s rural communities. The next Chair will carry on this tradition of mission-driven excellence, leveraging the College’s strengths to further its role and impact within the University, the community, and the state of Alabama.
More specifically, the Chair will address the following challenges and opportunities:

Craft a strategic vision in concert with departmental, institutional, and community leadership.
The Chair will serve as the primary advocate for the Department, clearly articulating its mission across all levels. This role involves collaborating with key internal and external stakeho