Interview with Neal A. Vanselow

Abstract

Dr. Neal Vanselow begins his interview by reflecting on his education and training at the University of Michigan and his internship at Minneapolis General Hospital (now Hennepin County Medical Center). He then discusses his tenure as dean at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and his move to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He relates the reasons for his move to the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center (AHC). Concerning the University’s AHC, Dr. Vanselow describes all of the following: the culture of the AHC particularly town/gown relationships; the relationship between the AHC and the rest of the University; the relationship between the AHC and Central Administration; relations among units in the health sciences; the incorporation of the College of Veterinary Medicine into the AHC; and Ken Keller’s Commitment to Focus and the threatened closure of the Dental School and the College of Veterinary Medicine. Reflecting on larger trends in healthcare and health education, he discusses: efforts to admit more minority students; issues regarding the rising costs of hospital care and the impact on University Hospital; faculty practice; retrenchments; the creation of the Biomedical Ethics Center; and the issues surrounding the University’s production and sale of Antilymphocyte Globulin (ALG). Dr. Vanselow also describes the tenures of the presidents of the University and the regents with which he worked; his work with the Legislature; the differences between a private and public academic health center; and his time on the board of the Association of Academic Health Centers. He concludes his interview with a reflection on his experiences as part of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Future of Primary Care and the Continuing Evaluation Panel of the American International Health Alliance.