Dr. James McKiernan Named to Interim Roles at CUIMC

Dear members of the Columbia community:

After a period of consultation and leadership planning, I am pleased to share that Dr. James McKiernan, senior vice dean for clinical affairs at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) and CEO of ColumbiaDoctors, will serve as interim executive vice president for Health and Biomedical Sciences, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), and interim dean of VP&S. Jim will take on these roles effective June 5, 2026, working with Dr. Katrina Armstrong to ensure a smooth transition. I also wish to thank Katrina, again, for her dedicated leadership and tremendous service over the last four years.

Jim held the interim dean role once before from 2024-2025, and we are enormously grateful he is willing to serve again on an interim basis. Jim brings exceptional expertise and is deeply respected across CUIMC, the broader Columbia community, and among our many clinical and research partners. Jim has been an important partner to me and I’m certain he will provide the steady and strategic leadership required at this critical moment. President-Designate Jennifer Mnookin will begin a global search for a permanent EVP, CEO, and dean soon after her arrival to Columbia in July.

As interim EVP, CEO, and dean, Jim will work closely with the deans of the College of Dental Medicine, Mailman School of Public Health, and the School of Nursing to ensure continued excellence in CUIMC’s work to address the world’s most pressing health challenges. He will also work closely with the leadership of our hospital partner NewYork-Presbyterian to deepen our longstanding collaboration in patient care, education, and research. At a time of significant challenges for research institutions nationwide, Jim will help promote and protect CUIMC’s vital scientific and medical research efforts, which are transforming patient care and expanding the frontiers of knowledge.

Jim, the John K. Lattimer Professor of Urology, previously served as the chair of the Department of Urology. After graduating from VP&S in 1993, he completed his training in urology and general surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian, followed by a urologic surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Jim’s well-regarded clinical practice is focused on urologic oncology and surgical therapy in high-risk patients with bladder and kidney cancers. His research, which focuses on developing novel therapeutics for bladder cancer treatment, has been published in journals including Cancer, Cancer Research, JAMA Oncology, Journal of Urology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Jim will work closely with President-Designate Mnookin to further CUIMC’s extraordinary work. CUIMC’s contributions are vital to our patients and communities; to the future of biomedical research and discovery; and to the strength and future of Columbia as a whole. Please join me in thanking Jim for serving in this leadership role and in offering him our full support in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Claire Shipman
Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York