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Richard Hart named president of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center
(LOMA LINDA, CA)—Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, Chancellor and CEO of Loma Linda University, has been named
President and Chief Executive Officer of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center (LLUAHSC). He will
replace B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, who announced last December that she would be retiring in March of 2008.
“The board and search committee believe that Dr. Hart’s distinguished career of service has ideally prepared him for
this position,” said Cooper. “As both a physician and an academician, he is knowledgeable about the unique challenges and
opportunities faced by an academic health sciences center. We believe he brings both the training and the experience to lead
this organization at this important time in its history, and will be able to ensure that no momentum is lost as we move forward
on major expansion, fund-raising and research initiatives now in place.”
Hart, who has been in his current position since 2001, has served Loma Linda University in a variety of capacities
since 1972—in various academic appointments in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, as director of the Center for
Health Promotion, and as dean of the School of Public Health.
During his tenure at LLU, Hart’s passion for service and global outreach has made him a central force in launching
humanitarian efforts in which students and faculty can participate. He has worked internationally to improve hospitals in
underserved areas, and has made service an even more integral part of the university student’s experience.
“Dr. Hart is deeply committed to the mission of this organization and is uniquely equipped to continue to expand the
institution’s global impact,” said Cooper. Hart’s extensive international experience has included prior consultancies for the
World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe and in Nigeria and as a maternal and child health consultant to the
Government of Tanzania. He is founder and president of Social Action Community Health System (SACHS), which is a low-cost
primary health care network serving Southern California’s Inland Empire.
Hart received his medical and master of public health degrees from LLU, and also completed his internal medicine
residency from LLUMC. He received his doctor of public health degree and completed a preventive medicine residency from
Johns Hopkins University. Hart has authored three books on health and a variety of scientific articles.
“It’s both honor and a sobering responsibility to provide leadership to Loma Linda at this time in its
history,” says Hart. “I have great confidence in the people that work here, and look forward to collaborating
with my colleagues.”
Hart’s appointment resulted from the work of a search committee that included representation from
the institution and board. Hart will assume full responsibilities of the position on March 24. He will also
assume the role of president of the university and the medical center, and will continue to serve as Chancellor
and CEO of the university until a new one is appointed.
Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center includes the university, which has eight schools and a
Faculty of Graduate Studies; four hospitals, which have a total of 900 beds; and more than 600 faculty physicians. Nearly
4,100 students from approximately 80 countries attend the university. Loma Linda University Medical Center operates
some of the largest clinical programs in the United States, and is recognized as the international leader in infant heart
transplantation and proton treatments for cancer. Serving an average of 33,000 inpatients and half a million outpatients
annually, the medical center is the only Joint Commission-accredited tertiary care hospital in the area, and the only Level I
regional trauma center in four counties. A Seventh-day Adventist institution, it was founded in 1905 and is known for its
global humanitarian efforts.
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