By
Michelle McCollum
Arizona Summer Wildcat
Dr. Raymond Woosley replaces retired Dr. James Dalen
Dr. Raymond Woosley will give up the alabaster walls and cherry blossomed lawns of Washington D.C. for dry heat and stately saguaros when he comes to Tucson in August.
Woosley was offered the positions of Vice President for the Arizona Health Sciences Center and dean of the UA College of Medicine in early June. He has decided to accept.
"I have to admit that I went to Arizona not expecting to like it, but I fell in love with it," Woosley said. "I fell in love with the city and the university because the University of Arizona is an exciting environment with a vibrant faculty that I think is eager to change medicine."
Woosley, the former associate dean for clinical research at Georgetown University's School of Medicine, said his goal is to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical science.
"I sense that the schools in the health sciences and the rest of the university have the will to work together," he said. "(UA) President (Peter) Likins clearly wants this to happen and that's the opportunity that attracted me to this job."
"He's a very accomplished physician and administrator," said Dr. Kenneth Ryan, interim vice president of Health Sciences and interim dean of the College of Medicine "He's a very nice person, easy to talk to, and a very good listener. He's an insightful thinker."
Ryan said the search committee, composed of members from throughout the university, was looking for a replacement for Dr. James Dalen, previous vice president and dean, who retired this past year. The search started in fall 2000 and ended three weeks ago when Woosely was offered the job, Ryan said.
Woosley had also been offered the position as commissioner of the FDA, but took UA's offer instead.
"If I had a choice, I'd start tomorrow," Woosley said. "I'm excited because I want to work with the amazing technology at the main campus and to build a research enterprise."
The 58-year-old father of one said when his career started, he had no idea his enthusiasm for science would take him so far.
Woosley's story began when he was a pharmacologist working at a pharmaceutical company. After growing frustrated with the job's impersonal manner, he attended the University of Miami's School of Medicine to become personally involved with improving health care.
Discovering he had great concern for the safe use of medication, Woosley traveled to Vanderbilt University in Nashville to participate in a fellowship while studying clinical pharmacology, which is the study of how medicine works.
"Many find it frustrating to deal with the unknowns of science, but I find it to be fascinating," Woosley said. "Sometimes the research doesn't work, but I think that overall health care is better because of the research done over the years."
Now, after a 13-year stint at Georgetown, Woosley is moving to Tucson with his wife, Julianne, and a son, David, to assume his new university positions.
Yet, while his journey to become Vice President and Dean may seem long and difficult, Woosley maintains a light-hearted approach to the subject.
"It's been a wonderful roller-coaster ride," he said.
