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| Dr. Julio Frenk (Photo Credit: University of Miami) |
Written By: Nathan Skinner (@Canedude08)
Canes Rising Contributor
From Tad Foote, to Donna Shalala, to Julio Frenk? In a surprising move, the University of Miami named Dr. Julio Frenk as its sixth president on Monday. Frenk is not only the first Hispanic leader in school history, he's also the first medical doctor to hold the position. This move signals a continuation in philosophy, for Dr. Frenk shares a lot of similarities to his predecessor, Donna Shalala.
Who is Julio Frenk?
Julio Frenk was born on December 20, 1953 in Mexico City. He received his medical training at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), graduating in 1979. Dr. Frenk holds multiple advanced degrees, including a master's in public health, a masters in sociology, and a joint doctorate of philosophy in Medical Care Organization & Sociology from the University of Michigan. Following his academic training, he entered the public health field, becoming a Founding Director of the Centre for Health Research, a position he held from 1984-1987. He then went on to serve as the Director-General of the National Institute of Health of Mexico for five years, beginning in 1987. Frenk left the public sector in 1995 to serve as the Executive Vice President of the Mexican Health Foundation, a nonprofit. Following the election of Vicente Fox as President of Mexico in 2000, Frenk was appointed to the position of Minister of Health, a position he held until 2006. In 2009, Dr. Frenk was named to the position of Dean of the Faculty and T&G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health and International Development at the Harvard School of Public Health, a position he now leaves in order to take the reins at the University of Miami.
Why Julio Frenk?
The University of Miami is a unique institution. It's significantly younger than most of its peers, and as a result has a ton of catching up to do in the areas of fundraising and endowment. While Dr. Shalala did an excellent job of raising funds, Miami still has work to do, and Frenk is a dynamic fundraiser. While at Harvard, he quadrupled the amount of fundraising in his department and secured the largest single gift in Harvard history, a $350,000,000 naming rights deal. His contacts with Mexican businessman Carlos Slim may prove to be useful, as Slim has been an ardent supporter of Vicente Fox and Dr. Frenk. Frenk's experience with Bill and Melinda Gates should also be a valuable asset, he worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His experience with large bureaucratic organizations should also come in handy, especially with how the University of Miami is struggling to integrate recently acquired health assets. UHealth is allegedly hemorrhaging money, it's safe to say that the Frenk hire is the Board of Trustees' attempt to solve that problem. The Medical School and UHealth are the two biggest cash cows for the University, those assets have to be managed at a high level. Frenk has the experience and talent to turn those underperforming divisions around. Frenk is also a respected member of academia, with over twenty eight books and monographs to his credit. He brings a good mix of academic acumen, executive experience, and fundraising ability to the job.
What does this mean for Miami Athletics?
Nothing. The day to day operations will change very little, for the time being. While Frenk will go through the motions, it's safe to say that it's the Board of Trustees that will have final say in regards to the future of Miami's athletic department. Blake James and the coaching staffs of the various sports will meet Frenk later this week, but don't look for him to make any major pushes in this area. Contrary to what you heard on talk radio, or read on message boards, there's little chance that Blake James will be cleaning out his office at weeks end. Like most University Presidents, Frenk will not be involved with the everyday administration of the athletic department, choosing to concentrate on the academic side of the University. The best fans can hope for is that Frenk feels that a change is needed at Athletic Director, and he successfully lobbies the Board of Trustees to find the funding necessary to hire a dynamic athletic director that can consistently identify coaching talent. Frenk's experience at Harvard didn't include any oversight of the athletic department, so fans hoping for a sports-centric administrator may be disappointed.
Conclusion
Dr. Julio Frenk is an experienced administrator who brings a unique skillset to what is one of the toughest jobs in academia. He wasn't hired to fix the football program, he was hired to make UHealth and the medical school world class institutions, and to continue the work done by Donna Shalala. During his press conference, Frenk gushed about Miami's upward momentum being a reason why he found the job attractive. Maintaining that upward momentum is Frenk's primary objective and he has the intelligence and background to lead the University of Miami as it marches onward and upward.
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