New UH dean
eager for challenge

Dr. Cadman will be paid $400,000
yearly to help rebuild the
medical school

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

The newly appointed dean of the University of Hawaii medical school says he changed his mind about the job, which he previously had turned down, because he feels there's a greater commitment to the school.

"I think key opinion-makers really want to have a successful, revitalized medical school, and I'm very willing to become more involved in the politics of the medical school -- the fund raising," said Dr. Edwin C. Cadman, Yale University professor of medicine.

"And I won't be shy about attending community events to raise the interest of people as to why it's important to have a strong medical school," he added in a telephone interview yesterday from his Connecticut home.

Cadman was the university's first choice to lead the John A. Burns School of Medicine in a search for a permanent dean last year. He withdrew as a candidate in January.

Dr. Sherrel Hammar, interim dean since December 1996, and medical faculty members were delighted but stunned at Cadman's appointment yesterday by the UH Board of Regents.

"I think right now the staff is sort of in a state of shock, but this is really what we wanted," Hammar said, describing Cadman as "a very bright person" with visions for the school. "I think this is probably a good challenge and right time for him."

Cadman said one of his concerns initially "was about the commitment of the state and community about the value of the medical school."

At that time, for instance, Gov. Ben Cayetano was taking about the possible privatization of the medical school to make it a viable operation.

Cadman said, however, that things have happened that have given him "a different feeling about the commitment of the state, and that's made all the difference in the world for me."

Cadman is senior vice president of medical affairs for the prestigious Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale-New Haven Health System and chief of staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

He said he has turned down other job offers from stable facilities because he would have continued doing the same thing. He's excited about the UH position, effective Nov. 1, because he's "very committed to academic medicine," he said.

He said "an awful lot can be done that needs to be done and the outcome, if successful, would be a medical school and scientific biological program that in five to 10 years could be absolutely one of the tops."

He said a medical school "sets the standards which other people -- physicians and scientists -- aspire to. Moreover, I think a medical school with a research foundation can be an economic boon to any community."

Anticipated doubling of the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute budgets in five years will benefit the UH if an environment is developed for research scientists, Cadman said.

"That's a tremendous industry for the United States, the biomedical research industry. There is no reason why a place like Hawaii can't benefit from that knowledge.

"At any rate, I was excited to learn at least from opinion makers that there was tremendous interest in reestablishing the excellence of the medical school," Cadman said, pointing out that sort of commitment "can make the difference in failure and success."

Hammar said Cadman is very highly regarded -- "one of those people who has never failed at anything. And he looks on this school as a real challenge, which I think is probably a correct assessment.

"The thing most gratifying to me," Hammar added, "is it shows we can recruit a very prestigious person to come (to the UH)."

UH Senior Vice President and Manoa vice chancellor Dean Smith said he and Cadman have been in touch over the past couple of months.

Cadman will receive an annual salary of about $400,000 and some new faculty positions over five years. The package was agreed upon in earlier negotiations and was never an issue, Smith said.

"The stability of the school and hospital support has always been an issue. The school, in my opinion, is quite stable now," he said.

The hospitals are contributing to Cadman's salary and the university still is looking for resources, Smith said.

"It's a chicken-and-egg thing. We have to have a strong dean building a strong medical school if we're going to attract resources. I think the school is sufficiently important to the state. It's a magnificent investment."

Meet new med school dean Dr. Edwin C. Cadman Age: 54 Current Position Senior vice president of medical affairs for Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale-New Haven Health System; chief of staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Background Joined Yale in 1976. Spent four years as director of the Cancer Research Institute, chief of hematology/ oncology and professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, then returned to Yale as professor and chair of medicine and hospital chief of staff. Professional affiliations Elected fellow in American Associa-tion for the Advancement of Science. Received many honors and awards. Served on professional advisory boards and national committees. Associate editor of major journals, including Cancer Research and American Journal of Medicine. Visiting professor at numerous institutions, including the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Education Has bachelor's degree from Stanford University and medical degree from University of Oregon. Completed internship and residency at Stanford University Hospital and fellowship in oncology at Yale University School of Medicine. Personal Married with three sons.

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Ka Leo O Hawaii