Duke medical dean to step down next year

The dean of Duke University’s medical school will step down next year.

Dr. Nancy Andrews, who also is vice chancellor for academic affairs at Duke, will step down next June after a decade in both roles.

In a message to faculty, students and staff, Andrews said, “I’ve been committed to the idea that leadership should be refreshed, and I fell that the end of my second term is the right time.”

She said Duke had made progress “in spite of the strong headwinds” of national economic woes and tight budgets from the National Institutes of Health, which funds much of the medical research in the United States.

Andrews’ tenure saw a construction boom, with a new medical education building, a facility for Duke’s physician assistant program and a satellite campus in Durham’s Innovation District. Four new departments were created, along with new degree programs and a partnership with the university’s Pratt School of Engineering. Two medical school faculty at Duke won Nobel Prizes in chemistry during the past decade.

Dr. Eugene Washington, chancellor for health affairs and president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System, said a committee will launch a national search for Andrews’ successor.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Duke medical dean to step down next year."