Paul F. Peterson named SOM chief administrative officer and senior associate dean for business

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of longtime VCU School of Medicine administration leader Paul Peterson, M.B.A., to be chief administrative officer and senior associate dean for business affairs at SOM.

A former university budget director, Paul has built a distinguished career in higher education administration defined by strategic innovation, data-driven decision making and collaboration.

He brings to this critical position more than 25 years of experience in higher education and finance, which includes more than 20 years in progressive leadership roles and 18 years at VCU, having most recently served as SOM interim senior associate dean for finance and administration, following 12 years as the assistant dean for administration.

During this time, Paul has been instrumental in advancing our SOM mission through financial stewardship, space planning, human resource management and technology integration.

In his new role, Paul will provide strategic oversight across financial, administrative, technological and operational domains within the School of Medicine, supporting our academic, research and clinical missions. Responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing a $400M+ operating budget, faculty compensation and endowments
• Compliance and contracts with university, state and federal regulations
• Human resource management of staff and 1,000+ faculty
• Overseeing SOMTech and aligning IT services across academic, research and administration
• Managing 650,000 square feet of SOM facilities and space

Paul will report directly to the dean of the School of Medicine and collaborate with senior leadership, department chairs and SOM administrators, as well as institutional partners in VCU leadership, the MCV Foundation, VCU Health System and MCV Physicians.

As our CAO and dean of business affairs, I am confident Paul’s leadership, planning and collaborative problem-solving skills will enable SOM to grow and thrive as an academic medical institution. Please join me in congratulating and supporting him in his new role.

Sincerely,

Arturo P. Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Executive vice president for medical affairs, VCU Health System