New President Chosen to Head Drew University

The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science named a new president this week -- an Australian psychologist who will become the first woman and first nonminority to head the institution.

Susan Kelly, 55, now a vice president at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in Chicago, faces many challenges as she steps into her new post at the historically black university.

The school, which trains doctors at the troubled Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Willowbrook, has seen its own share of woes in running these residency programs. In previous years, national accreditors revoked the hospital’s right to train physicians in surgery, radiology and neonatology, and said the hospital’s oversight of physicians was among the worst in the country.

Kelly, who starts May 15, said she was optimistic she could help the distressed university.

“I enjoy a challenge,” Kelly said in an interview earlier this week. “I like to work with organizations that have powerful and honorable missions but for some reason are not fulfilling that.”

Kelly said she planned to strengthen the university’s ties to the largely minority community around South Los Angeles, improve recruitment and retention of faculty members, and scrutinize the hospital’s finances.

She also plans to work closely with the chief executive officer of King/Drew, Antionette Smith Epps.

Kelly’s leadership is welcome as the university seeks to regain accreditation for some of its programs, said Bart Williams, chairman of the board of trustees at Drew University. Williams said he could not disclose Kelly’s salary, but said “she is very well compensated.”

The university’s mission -- to care for the underserved -- fits well with her values, she said.

“I come from a country where nobody is uninsured, and I really honestly believe that education, poverty, race and color should never come between you and getting medical care,” the Australian native said.

The university was founded in 1966, to serve a community in need. King/Drew was founded several years later, in direct response to the Watts riots.

Since Charles Francis left the presidency under pressure in January 2004, the university has had temporary leaders. Dr. Thomas Yoshikawa has been serving as interim president since July 2005.

“Dr. Kelly is a person who will have the ability to get the word out in a highly effective manner about many of the wonderful things that take place at Drew every day,” Williams said.

A mother of twin 19-year-old girls and two stepdaughters, Kelly received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Australia before becoming a professor, dean and associate provost at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1998.

During her six-year tenure, she helped revamp the School of Continuing Education, which had been experiencing financial and image problems.

Kelly “came in and took a number of steps to help stabilize the school financially,” said Sammis White, associate dean of the school. “It was not a pleasant process, but we are certainly in much better shape than we were several years ago.”

Those same skills may prove to be helpful in her role at Drew University.

“Susan is a very strong person,” said Kim C. Beck, director of the arts, humanities and science unit at the Milwaukee school, who worked with Kelly for six years. “She’s very decisive and expects a lot from her staff. She’s the toughest person I’ve ever worked for.”