GALVESTON - Dr. David L. Callender, president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has named Donna K. Sollenberger to be executive vice president and chief executive officer for the UTMB Health System.
Sollenberger, who is chief executive officer of the Baylor Clinic and Hospital and executive vice president of Baylor College of Medicine, will assume her new duties at UTMB Sept. 14.
“This is a critical time in our history, and Donna’s background in health care administration and academic medicine makes her the right leader for our future as we rebuild and reinvent UTMB,” Callender said. “Throughout her career, Donna has demonstrated an outstanding ability to help complex organizations such as ours think strategically, plan effectively, capitalize on opportunities, empower their workforce, build and sustain relationships, and fulfill their potential.”
Sollenberger said she was excited about joining the leadership at UTMB.
“I was impressed by the extraordinary commitment to UTMB, the great sense of optimism for the future shared by everyone I have met, and the rich history and accomplishments of the organization,” Sollenberger said. “I am equally impressed by the depth of appreciation and support members of the Galveston community have for UTMB. I realize that great challenges lie ahead, but I believe the future holds tremendous opportunity and I’m excited about working with everyone to move UTMB forward at this pivotal and historic time.
“I will certainly miss all of the fine faculty and staff at Baylor College of Medicine. I deeply appreciate the opportunities I have been given and the friendships I have made with the physicians, scientists and staff of a remarkable organization,” Sollenberger said.
Sollenberger, who previously served as president and CEO of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, will provide operational and financial oversight for UTMB’s patient care enterprise, which includes its hospital complex, a network of campus- and community-based clinics, and a Correctional Managed Care program that provides care to three-fourths of the state’s incarcerated. She will also be integrally involved in long-term capital improvement projects to upgrade clinical facilities at the university.
Callender praised Karen H. Sexton, who has been serving as interim executive vice president and CEO of the UTMB Health System.
“I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to a colleague who has dedicated her heart, soul and considerable expertise to UTMB,” Callender said. “Karen has provided enlightened leadership during some of the most challenging times in our history, and the health system and UTMB as a whole are better for it.”
Callender said that he was pleased that Sexton has agreed to serve as a special advisor to him during the transition. “She will continue to work with us to ensure the ongoing success of UTMB’s long-range clinical strategic plan,” he said.
“Donna Sollenberger is an excellent choice to lead UTMB’s clinical operations,” said Dr. William T. Butler, interim president of Baylor College of Medicine. “In her tenure, she has been an innovative team builder who has led the expansion of Baylor’s adult clinical efforts to make it well placed for continued advancement in the future.”
Under Sollenberger’s leadership, the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics won numerous national awards, including being named one of Solucient’s Top 100 hospitals in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and a Top 100 Heart Hospital in 2006 and 2007. During her tenure, the hospital was ranked the number one academic hospital in the University Health Systems Consortium’s Quality and Accountability study. The system also was named one of the 100 best companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine in 2007. Sollenberger in 2007 was selected as one of the top 25 women in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine.
Prior to joining the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Sollenberger was executive vice president and chief operating officer of City of Hope in Los Angeles, vice president for hospital and clinics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the administrative officer for surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois in Springfield.