Last week’s interim dean appointment to Central Michigan University’s school of medicine was the first step of many in the lengthy and somewhat expensive venture.

Cam Enarson, a professor of anesthesiology and health policy and ethics at Creighton University, will begin consulting part-time May 1 and commence official dean duties July 1. His annual salary, including deferred compensation, is $308,000, $5,643 more each year than University President Michael Rao’s salary approved by the Board of Trustees in December.

Enarson will carry out the one-year contract with up to $70,000 in performance incentives.

Ray Christie, vice provost of academic administration and medical school program director, said he does not believe Enarson’s position and the initiative during development stages will extract any resources or funds from undergraduate academic programs.

“There are not plans to reallocate existing base funds away from existing colleges and departments,” Christie said. “Other medical schools have reported various impacts. One certainly is a greater image which has led to greater interest in other existing programs.”

After February’s Board meeting, university officials were given directions to carry out a search for an interim dean.

Provost Julia Wallace said the search began after the Board’s permission and a discussion in January with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body of the more than 100 medical schools across the country and in Canada.

“Typically you would actually go to the college … to talk about what they thought would be important in the interim dean process and then get some feedback,” Wallace said. “Now in this particular case, we don’t have a college of medicine, so it’s harder to do.”

She said CMU searched for someone with a strong medical education and LCME accreditation experience.

Despite looking at individuals who recently retired or were unsuccessful in other dean searches, Wallace said CMU was recommended to Enarson, as he was Creighton’s vice president for health sciences and school of medicine dean for five years.

“We knew the characteristics that we wanted,” she said. “There was no question that Cam stood out.”

Enarson also was on numerous LCME site visits, Wallace said, and can introduce new methods of achieving accreditation given his expertise.

“He could very well be the foremost authority on LCME accreditation standards in this country,” Christie said. “We are at a point where we need someone with the expertise that Dr. Enarson has.”

Christie said to determine Enarson’s salary, he turned to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

According to AAMC records, Enarson’s contract is in the 25th percentile of medical school deans nationwide and up to $200,000 less than the median salary from the 2007-2008 academic year.

Christie said Enarson will be responsible for curricular, administrative and facility developments.

Wallace said quarterly reports will be given to the Board, informing them of Enarson’s progress in achieving accreditation and that he will somewhat maintain an on campus presence throughout its duration.

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E-mail the author: Jackie Smith