New health affairs leader
Dr. Robert A. Barish
By Howard Wolinsky — Alumni Magazine
On Jan. 1, Dr. Robert A. Barish assumed the role of UIC vice chancellor for health affairs, a position that includes oversight and coordination of education, research and health care delivery among UIC’s seven health science colleges. He also has primary responsibility for the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), including its hospital, clinics and federally qualified health center sites.
Barish previously served as chancellor for the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport for seven years. From 1985-2009, he held several positions at University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, including chief of emergency medicine and associate dean, then vice dean, for clinical affairs. He helped lead a state-dispatched medical regiment to Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, to deliver emergency care to more than 6,000 Hurricane Katrina victims. While serving as flight surgeon in the Maryland Air National Guard, Barish was among a select group invited to become a NASA astronaut candidate in the early 1990s.
“Dr. Barish brings enormous strengths to UIC that will help us improve our educational, research and clinical health care enterprise, and align the academic and clinical missions of our health science colleges and patient care services,” UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said in an email welcoming Barish to campus Jan. 11. “His vast knowledge will serve our campus well.”
