Rx for Excellence continue...

Administration:
The Fourth Leg of the Academic Stool

Dr. Amenta notes that, typically, people refer to the “academic three-legged stool” of education, research, and clinical service — which, at RWJMS, also involves community health. “Many people think it’s unseemly to talk about administration in an academic context, but I consider it the fourth and stabilizing leg,” he says. “Success at the administrative level will allow the school to retain and recruit the best faculty, staff, and students, to build programs, and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment.

“Ultimately,” he adds, “we are evaluated on making the right decisions, making the right business move, doing the right experiment, making the right interpretation of a clinical situation, and recruiting the right faculty.”

Dr. Amenta will rely heavily on his strong, six-member senior executive team in the decision-making process. He sees the team members’ support as critical to building excellence in each of the medical school’s four mission areas: education, research, clinical care, and community health. “I look to them to guide those missions, to support our efforts to build strategic plans, and to work with the chairs and institute directors to develop their programs and departments.”

Thinking Like a Pathologist

Dr. Amenta has always appreciated how pathologists approach diagnostic issues, having the unique capacity to review macroscopic, microscopic, ultra-microscopic, and molecular data in a clinical situation and provide the definitive answer to a diagnostic dilemma. “This approach of drilling down to the solution is also useful in experimental work and even in business decisions. It has been very helpful in addressing a variety of issues,” he says.

“My greatest frustration is coping with my impatience to complete projects quickly. Some issues you can take care of quickly,” he said, noting that he had a short checklist of items that he would try to complete promptly. “But some problems are long-term. The pathology department developments did not occur in one month, four months, or one year. It took two or three years to see substantial change, and we needed a lot of hard work by a lot of good people to get us there.

“I can see this same growth school-wide and hope that the entire faculty appreciates their crucial contribution to the development of this academic medical center. Not many years ago, the footprint and programs here resembled those of a community hospital and a fledgling medical school. We should all be very proud of the developments that have occurred since then. We owe a great debt not only to the faculty but to Dean Paz; to our partner, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; and to Harvey Holzberg, the hospital’s former CEO. I look forward to working with the hospital’s new leadership.

Vision and Strategy

When Dr. Amenta first took over the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Med-
icine, someone asked him to describe his vision for the department. “I responded by saying I was trying to put together enough money to afford one,” he says. “In summary, it is no secret that a major component of success is a strong financial margin. We are working very hard to develop a strong financial foundation. Strategic plans are not of much value unless you can actually implement them, and that requires adequate funding.”

A key component to the success of the majority of leading academic medical centers is philanthropic support, he says, noting that he is working closely with the Foundation of UMDNJ to set priorities and implement programs to raise funds for the school.

How long does Dr. Amenta expect to serve as dean? Characteristically, he wants to take the job step-by-step: “I prefer considering myself the current dean. I don’t want any excuse to inhibit our progress.” So, with no finale in sight, Dr. Amenta dives into his new job, as he did in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, with an ambitious plan and huge enjoyment of the task at hand.