National search for dean of El Paso’s school of medicine runs to 2025
By Daniel Perez
September 26, 2024
The national search to replace Richard Lange as dean of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine could continue until at least spring 2025, Texas Tech Health El Paso said.
Texas Tech University System officials have asked Lange, who also serves as TTHEP president, to step down as dean to devote his full energies as campus leader. Lange has been president and dean since the TTU System hired him in 2014.
TTU System Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell suggested as early as Lange’s 2021 performance evaluation that the president begin to consider hiring a new dean for the school. Lange said last July that multiple factors to include the pandemic delayed those efforts.
An 11-member search committee, which includes internal and external stakeholders, along with WittKieffer, an international executive search firm, continue their work to generate a suitable list of candidates. More than 40 individuals have applied for the job. The university expects to conduct on-site interviews in coming months and have finalists named by next spring.
“While we are eager to find a new medical school dean, our top priority is to appoint an individual who demonstrates exceptional leadership, academic excellence, alignment with our values-based culture and a deep appreciation for the community,” TTHEP stated in an email to El Paso Matters. “The timeline will be adjusted as necessary to ensure we achieve this goal.”
In his own email response, Mitchell said that the institution’s growth physically and in its research, academics and community service, has necessitated an expansion of the TTHEP leadership team. He added that Lange is fully committed to that plan.
“We are confident in the search committee’s ability to identify the next person who will continue the medical school’s important work,” Mitchell said.
Lange’s 2023 contract included that he agreed to appoint a new dean for the TTHEP school of medicine by Aug. 31, 2024. If Lange did not appoint someone to that position by that time, he was supposed to offer a recommendation to Mitchell who would appoint an interim dean until a permanent replacement could be appointed.
In a July 21 story by El Paso Matters that marked Lange’s 10-year anniversary in charge of TTHEP, he noted that the recruitment of a new leader for the medical school was a rigorous process. Officials decided to delay the search for a better time.
“That time is now,” Lange said at the time, adding that the search committee, which includes TTU System representatives, had developed a process to ensure that the system hires a “world-class leader” who would be best for the school, its students and the community.
In a statement to El Paso Matters Thursday, the university said the search committee will maintain “strict confidentiality” of the candidate pool and its deliberations. Top candidates will be invited to visit the campus and meet with internal and external stakeholders, who’ll offer feedback to help the committee select finalists. An unranked list of finalists will then be sent to Lange for final interviews and reference checks before extending a job offer, the statement said.
In the institution’s job description, the dean of the Foster School of Medicine is mainly responsible for the development, supervision and operation of the school’s academic programs.
According to Glassdoor, a job and recruiting site, the dean position’s pay range is from $64,000 to $120,000. The TTHEP job description states that the salary is commensurate with related skills, education and experience.
In a statement, Mitchell said Lange’s salary will remain the same once a medical school dean is appointed. Lange’s annual base salary was about $585,770 under his 2023 contract, which also stipulated 2% annual increases through 2026 and an annual supplemental income of $312,120.
“The employment agreement and related compensation are reflective of Dr. Lange’s role as president,” Mitchell said in the statement. “His compensation is comparable to that of presidents at other health-related institutions in Texas.”
The Texas Legislature established the Foster School of Medicine in 2007 with a goal of improving health care in the region by graduating physicians who would practice in the community, which is historically underserved. The school enrolled its first class two years later.
The medical school earned its preliminary accreditation in 2008 and a full authorization five years later. The certification was renewed in 2018 through the 2025-26 academic year.
The school enrolled 474 students in its fall 2023 cohort. The 2024 registration figures will not be available until after Oct. 15. As of May 24, the school of medicine had 997 graduates.
