Dr. Robert Cantrell is stepping down as Health System vice president and provost, and will return to the faculty.

Cantrell to step down from VP post

Staff Report

Dr. Robert W. Cantrell, vice president and provost for health sciences at the University since July 1994, announced Feb. 20 that he will leave his administrative posts when his term ends June 30.

An internationally respected otolaryngologist, medical educator and researcher who has served as governor of the American College of Surgeons, he will return to his faculty duties after a year's sabbatical.

"I have reached this difficult decision after several months of thought and consultation with others," he told the medical and nursing faculties. "I am honored to have served the University as a vice president over the past six years. At this point in my career, I believe it is best for the Health System, for my family, and for me not to seek another term."

Cantrell, 67, joined the U.Va. faculty in 1976, when he was appointed professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. At U.Va., he also directed the Medical Center's ambulatory care services, overseeing the improvement and expansion of outpatient medical services, before succeeding Dr. Don E. Detmer as vice president and provost.

In addition to his work at the University, he has served as president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, is the author or co-author of more than 200 professional publications, and has been a consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General, the National Institutes of Health and other federal and state agencies.

"Bob Cantrell has been a strong and committed leader during a time of enormous challenges for academic medical centers, our own included," said U.Va. President John T. Casteen III. "We are grateful for his dedication, as well as for his understanding of a range of the most complex issues ever seen in our health care system, his efforts to find solutions, and his advocacy on behalf of the U.Va. Health System. I am especially pleased for Dr. Cantrell and for his thousands of colleagues that it was on his watch that the hospital was first recognized as ranking among the nation's very best.