Medical College of Georgia President Daniel W. Rahn is one of four finalists to fill a similar post with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas System announced Tuesday.
Dr. Rahn said it is the first time he has been a formal candidate for another position since he became president in 2001 and it is not something he sought.
"I was contacted and asked to take a preliminary look," he said. "And based upon what I saw, I'm impressed with the institution and I agreed to be a candidate."
Dr. Rahn will go to the Little Rock campus for a two-day visit March 9, and University of Arkansas System President B. Alan Sugg is expected to make a recommendation shortly after that to the university system's Board of Trustees, spokesman Ben Beaumont said. The other three candidates will also make two-day visits.
The position is actually chancellor of the school, but it is the equivalent of a school president who reports to the president of the system. The current chancellor, I. Dodd Wilson, retires June 30.
Dr. Rahn stressed that he is not unhappy with MCG.
"This is not about something wrong at MCG," he said. "I've always said that I'm very proud of MCG -- and I am -- and to have the role that I have. I think it's really the strength of MCG that led people to think of me as a potential candidate here."
The Arkansas school is slightly bigger than MCG, with a little more research funding and more employees.
"I would say it's kind of comparable, in terms of scope of research, a little bit bigger in numbers of faculty, numbers of students and amount of research," Dr. Rahn said. "But it's kind of in the same ballpark as MCG."
He would not even speculate on the odds that he will leave Augusta for Little Rock.
"It would be very premature," he said. "I'm just anxious to see where this process leads. We have a lot of things going on here, things that I'm very interested in seeing through. And they're important. There are just many factors to consider along the way. And for them as well. This is an important institution. They want to get this right."
Even if he should leave, it will not derail efforts to expand MCG School of Medicine to Athens in conjunction with the University of Georgia or to expand medical education generally in Georgia.
"Those initiatives are state-level initiatives," said Dr. Rahn, who also serves as senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia. "They are priorities of the state, the Board of Regents, the institution. They are not dependent upon single individuals in any position. Those very, very important initiatives have to stay on track and go forward."
And, he insists, he will not be distracted in the meantime by the interview process.
"I'm here; I'm working; I'm very dedicated to what it is that we're doing," Dr. Rahn said. "I don't have one foot in two places."
It will come down to whether there is a fit between the Arkansas system and him, he said.
"We've just got to look for whether there is a good match," Dr. Rahn said.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
COMPARISON OF UNIVERSITIES
Medical College of Georgia President Daniel W. Rahn is one of four finalists for chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Here is a comparison of the universities, which are the only public health sciences universities for their respective states.
| MCG | UAMS | |
| Enrollment | 2,443 | 2,652 |
| Medical residents | 476 | 733 |
| Faculty | 937 | 1,500 |
| Research funding | $88 million | $107 million |
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While this may be a great step for Dr. Rahn it would be a huge loss for MCG and Augusta!
I really don't see that big of an increase in numbers. Just a little over 200 more students, and a little over 200 more residents. The faculty numbers do not make sense to me. For the number of enrolled students actually being only 209 more at UAMS, why do they need 563 more members of faculty at that school. Research funding is only 19 million more. It certainly can not be any more prestigious than MCG. The article makes the search for a new president for UAMS sound like a serious undertaking, which I am sure it is. If Dr. Rahn is committed to MCG and the current expansion projects, why did he agree to be considered a candidate for this position. If he is chosen for the job, will he say thanks, but no thanks? I think there is some ingredient in this recipe that we do not know about!
It's called the Athens school being rammed down his throat.
How about the decrease in employee benefits and jobs this year? I don't see him sacrificing any of his $600,000+ salary, his house, car, insurance and groceries that are paid for by MCG, or the millions of dollars he wants to spend on buildings and provide no parking for.
I hope he is offered and accepts the job. Wm Hitt MCG class 1963
Great...and I will help you pack if your are selected, so you can get out of town quickly.
Notice the Chronicle REMOVED almost all of the negative
comments on this from yesterday. Why?? Personally, I hope
he gets the Arkansas job, and gets out of here as soon as
possible!!!
Dr. Rahn is leaving because he is not being viewed in a friendly way by Augusta and MCG Augusta. MCG Augusta is helped by the CSRA in many ways, including the $7 million gift of the Gilbert Manor land. In these severe economic times, Dr. Rahn has done much to hurt MCG Augusta. I wish him well WHEREVER HE GOES. With Dr. Rahn's tenure, we simply had no one looking out for the interests of Augusta and the entire CSRA.
If Dr. Rahn is given a going away gift paid for by the taxpayers, I will cheat on my state income taxes enough to make up for it.
Dr. Rahn is just one of many poor and unethical presidents MCG has had sad to say. But the faculty, staff, physicians, and nurses there are stellar. I wonder how his fascist tactics will work there?
Hockeyman, yea I notice that they were erased too, maby there were too too many...Gee remember when Pat Sodomaka a big wig @ MCG husband worked @ Augusta Chronicle? Ever time he wrote something negative about MCG that was true, she was called into the office and her job was put on the line. Did she ever leave MCG & did husband leave Chronicle.? Water got to hot maybe both @ mcg & Chronicle? I hope Rhan gets the pressure one day that he put on the tenued employess to get rid of them ...GOD doesn't love ugly!!
Hockeyman, went back cked, they have 2 different sites for Rahn, & I agree with every one else.. PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE DON SNELL TOO!!
Yes, there are 2 different sites on this subject. I hope everyone reads both of them.
Bizarro, it only seems as thought the faculty, staff, physicians and nurses who work at MCG are stellar. They are not. There are many criminals in the mix and have been for years. Medical people cover the crimes of medical people. Also, Dr. Rahn may be leaving because he knows some things that we don't about the future of MCG.
Come to think of it, we should all sing his praises here in case the Little Rock people are reading. We need to get Rahn out and if they read these comments we may never get someone to hire him.
SwampGhost, I should say were stellar. The early retirement cleaned house when it came to excellence.
I just would like to say that I am shocked and disgusted about the negative comments that have been posted regarding Dr. Rahn. I have been at MCG for over a decade and before MCG was just comparable to a small village of research. Dr. Rahn contributed towards expanding the excellence of research, clinics and schools. If he decides to accept the position I wish all the best to him and his family. We will miss him greatly.
augustamed1243: sorry, but I do not share your kudos for MCG; the reputation for this particular hospital in terms of discrimination towards patients (NOT racist, mind you, but towards patients who are mentally challenged or otherwise feeble) is disgusting and certainly not in keeping with quality medical care. I have witnessed too many incidents before and after Rahm took over to ignore its presence--they are particularly harsh towards the mentally retarded individuals. I wouldn't go there if my life depended on it. If UH cannot provide what I need, then send me to Emory.
I allured to the same thing in my post as swampghost did: That there must be something in the pudding that we do not know about. If having a "satellite" campus in Athens is so important, and Dr. Rahn will supposedly still be the president of the entire process, then why is he considering leaving. Granted, he and Don Snell have never had the best interest of the CSRA at heart in the decisions that have been made, but why doesn't he just come out and say that he would like to go to UAMS. And another thing, unrelated to this article, if it is so beneficial for the Medical of Georgia to have a satellite campus, why isn't there an outcry for the University of Georgia to establish satellite campuses across the state. ASU would make an excellent location for a satellite campus. UGA - Augusta sounds pretty good to me. Think of what it would do for enrolment.
concercitizen, a mini wiki for you: the number of med students a med school can teach depends on having sufficient real patients or 'teaching cases.' i don't know anyone who would want to have 20 med students observing a patient...do you? ladies, how does this sound: 20 students observing your delivery? (yikes.) so--guess what--additional patients in the athens area=capacity to train additional students. THAT is why you can stop worrying about mcg being moved to athens. because the patients are in augusta.
Camer, you must have not lived in Augusta too long. Those of us that have, know better. The doctors and med/dental students have complained for years that they don't want to come to Augusta because of poor public schools, lack of career positions for their wives, lack of well-paying jobs for their children, poor race relations, and lack of quality college choices for their children. It is just a matter of time before it's moved.