Former Gov. John Kitzhaber has told the chairman of the Oregon Health & Science University that he will not be a candidate to replace OHSU president Dr. Joe Robertson, who is retiring.
Last month, DJ Wilson, a healthcare conference organizer who has worked closely with Kitzhaber, wrote a blog post proposing Kitzhaber for the OHSU job.
That made sense in a way: Kitzhaber, a former emergency room physician who trained at OHSU, has established himself over the past three decades, while Senate president and governor, as a leading thinker on healthcare policy. The downside: Kitzhaber's return to the governor's office from 2011 to 2015 ended in his resignation in February 2015 under pressure from influence-peddling allegations involving first lady Cylvia Hayes.
On Friday, the Lund Report, a healthcare industry newsletter, first reported that Kitzhaber had proactively removed himself from consideration.
Yaden told the Lund Report the search committee hopes to name a new president by July.