New Regents, Board of Governors Executive Committee members elected

The Board of Governors (B/G) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has elected two new members of the Board of Regents (B/R): Lena M. Napolitano, MD, FACS, FCCP, FCCM, and Kenneth W. Sharp, MD, FACS. In addition, 10 Regents have been reelected and several B/G Executive Committee positions have been filled.

Newly elected Regents

Dr. Napolitano is the Massey Foundation Professor of Surgery; founding division chief, acute care surgery; and director, surgical critical care, department of surgery, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor. A Fellow of the ACS since 1995, Dr. Napolitano has been a tireless volunteer for the College and has served in several important leadership roles within the organization.

An ACS Governor from 2008 to 2014, she has been Chair, B/G (2011–2013); Chair, Governors Ad hoc Committee to Restructure B/G Committees (2012–2013); Chair, B/G Fiscal Affairs Committee (2010–2013); Secretary, B/G (2010–2011); and Member, Executive Committee of the B/G (2009–2011). She was instrumental in the development of the pillar structure of the B/G, under which workgroups were established to address issues relevant to Fellows of the College. This comprehensive change and reorganization aligned and integrated the B/G with the Fellows of the ACS. Dr. Napolitano also greatly expanded and codified the responsibilities of the ACS Governors to ensure their active involvement in College activities.

In addition, Dr. Napolitano has served as Chair and Vice-Chair, Committee on Perioperative Care (CPC) (2002−2005 and 2000−2002, respectively); Chair, CPC Subcommittee on Infection Control (2003−2004); and Vice-Chair and Executive Committee Member, Pre- and Postoperative Care Committee (1998−2000 and 1998−2002, respectively). She has been a member of the Member Services Liaison Committee (2011–2013), B/G Committee on Surgical Practice (2003–2010), and ACS Bylaws Committee (2011–2013).

Dr. Napolitano also has been a member of the ACS Program Committee (2003–2005, 2011–2013), Comprehensive Communications Committee (2011–2012), ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC (American College of Surgeons political action committee) Board (2011–2014), and ACS Fundamentals of Surgery Resident Curriculum Steering Committee (2004–2010). From 2005 to 2014, she was Editor of what is now the ACS Surgical Critical Care Community. She served as President of the Surgical Infection Society and has held leadership roles in many other national societies. She served as director, American Board of Surgery (ABS), 2011−2017.

She has been involved at the chapter level, as well, currently serving as President of the Michigan Chapter of the ACS, and previously as Councilor (2013–2015), Secretary (2015–2017), and President-Elect and Program Committee Chair (2017–2018).

At present, Dr. Napolitano is a member of ACS Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP^®) Advisory Committee, the Michigan Chapter Credentials Committee, the ACS Committee on Surgical Skills Training for Practicing Surgeons, and the ACS Patient Education Committee, as well as the Michigan State Committee on Trauma (COT). She was Vice-Chair of the Michigan State COT from 2006 to 2008.

An esteemed trauma and critical care surgeon, Dr. Napolitano received the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Presidential Citation and Distinguished Service Award. Most recently, Dr. Napolitano was inducted into the League of Educational Excellence, received the Evan Newport Individual HOPE Award, and was awarded the American College of Critical Care Medicine’s Master of Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Sharp is professor of surgery and vice-chair, department of surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, and is a highly regarded surgical educator and mentor. He became an ACS Fellow in 1987 and has subsequently served in many roles for the ACS, starting as the Young Surgeon Representative for the Tennessee Chapter in 1989 and rising to serve as the Tennessee Chapter President (2000–2001). He has served on the Middle Tennessee Committee on Applicants for many years and has chaired that committee since 2010.

Dr. Sharp served on the ACS B/G (2000−2006), and in those six years he chaired the Physician Competency and Health Committee Workgroup (2004−2006) and the Nominating Committee of the B/G (2004−2005).

He has served on the Advisory Council for General Surgery as a Specialty Society Representative (2007−2011) and as the council’s Vice-Chair (2011−2013). In addition, Dr. Sharp is an Advisory Council Representative to the Program Committee (2013−present) and was Vice-Chair of the Program Committee (2015−2017). He also has been a Liaison for the Advisory Council for Rural Surgery (2012−2013) and a member of the Advisory Council Chairs (2011−2013). Most recently, Dr. Sharp has served on the ACS Foundation Board of Directors (2013−present), including four years as Secretary (2013–2017). In addition, Dr. Sharp has been a member of the ACS Comprehensive Communications Committee (2006−2014) and the Committee on Continuous Professional Development (2003−2009).

He has served as an officer of the Southern Surgical Association, the Southeastern Surgical Congress, and the Halsted Society. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Southeastern Surgical Congress in 2017, served as a director of the ABS (2006–2012), and chaired the ABS Gastrointestinal Surgery Advisory Council (2008–2012).

Reelected Regents

A total of 10 Regents have been reelected to three-year terms on the B/R. They are as follows:

John L. D. Atkinson, MD, FACS, professor of neurosurgery, department of neurological surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

James C. Denneny III, MD, FACS, executive vice-president and chief executive officer, American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Alexandria, VA; adjunct professor of clinical otolaryngology, department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia; and adjunct professor, department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, FACS, Bixby Professor of Surgery and chair of surgery; Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and Director, The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center; and surgeon-in-chief, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Henri R. Ford, MD, MHA, FACS, FRCS, FAAP, FRCSEng(Hon), Dean, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, FL

Enrique Hernandez, MD, FACS, The Abraham Roth Professor and Chair, department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science; and professor of pathology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, Paul B. Magnuson Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery; chair, department of orthopaedics; and professor of surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; and plastic and reconstructive surgeon, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia

Linda G. Phillips, MD, FACS, Truman G. Blocker, Jr., MD, Distinguished Professor and chief, department of surgery, division of plastic surgery; and professor, School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

Anton N. Sidawy, MD, FACS, Professor & Lewis B. Saltz Chair, department of surgery, George Washington University, Washington, DC

Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS, private practice general surgeon, Wichita Falls, TX

Steven D. Wexner, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS, FRCSEd, FRCSI(Hon), director, digestive disease center; chair, department of colorectal surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida; affiliate professor, Florida Atlantic University; and clinical professor, Florida International University, Weston

B/G Executive Committee

The B/G has elected Steven C. Stain, MD, FACS, to Chair the B/G. Dr. Stain is the Henry and Sally Schaffer Chair, department of surgery, Albany Medical Center, NY. As a Governor, he has served as Vice-Chair of the B/G (2016−2018); Chair, Committee to Study the Fiscal Affairs of the College (2015−2016); Secretary, Executive Committee (2015−2016); member, Executive Committee (2014−2015); and member, Surgical Training Workgroup (2013−2015).

The B/G also has elected a new Vice-Chair—Daniel L. Dent, MD, FACS, Distinguished Teaching Professor, general surgery residency program director, and professor of surgery, University of Texas Health School of Medicine, San Antonio. As a Governor, Dr. Dent has served as Secretary, B/G Executive Committee (2017−2018); Chair, Committee to Study the Fiscal Affairs of the College (2017−2018); member, Executive Committee (2015−2017); Lead, Education Pillar (2015–2017); member (2013-2015) and Vice-Chair (2014–2015) Continuing Education Workgroup; and member, Program Committee (2015–2018).

Ronald J. Weigel, MD, PhD, FACS, has been elected Secretary of the B/G. Dr. Weigel is professor and chair of surgery, associate vice-president for University of Iowa Health Alliance, professor of surgery-surgical oncology and endocrine surgery, professor of biochemistry, professor of anatomy and cell biology, and professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City. He has been an ACS Governor since 2017, serving as Vice-Chair of the B/G Best Practices Workgroup.

Other newly elected B/G Executive Committee Members are as follows:

Taylor Sohn Riall, MD, PhD, FACS, is professor and chief, division of general surgery and surgical oncology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson. Dr. Riall will be the Quality Pillar Lead. She was the 2017–2018 Vice-Chair, B/G Physician Competency and Health Workgroup.

Andre Campbell, MD, FACS, FACP, FCCM, is professor of surgery, division of general surgery, director, surgery 110 clerkship, and director, surgical critical care fellowship, University of California-San Francisco. Dr. Campbell will be the Education Pillar Lead. He has been an ACS Governor since 2015.

Mika N. Sinanan, MD, PhD, FACS, is a general surgeon, UW Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance SCCA, and professor of general surgery and adjunct professor of electrical engineering, University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Sinanan will be the Advocacy Pillar Lead. He was Chair, B/G Surgical Care Delivery Workgroup (2015–2018).