This restructuring has also created a new position: executive director of health operations, reporting to the provost. Melissa Colchado, who was the assistant vice president or chief of staff of strategic initiatives or planning with health sciences, will take on this role starting July 13 for the annual compensation of $188,673.
Specific programs and units such as the Interprofessional Clinical and Professional Skills Center, the Center for Transformative Interprofessional Healthcare, the Arizona Area Health Education Centers, the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center, and the Office of Student Engagement and Career Advancement will report to Colchado.
Jennifer Barton, who worked as the interim vice provost for health programs, will no longer be in this position and will go back to her faculty position as the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Biomedical Engineering.
UA’s health sciences unit previously was led by Michael Dake, who was senior vice president for the unit, hired by former UA President Robert C. Robbins, his longtime friend. UA President Suresh Garimella, who started at the UA in October 2024, announced in April last year that Dake was dismissed from that position after seven years, and that the nearly $1 million-a-year post was being eliminated.
Dake continues to be on the payroll for $450,000 annually in the position of a radiology and imaging science professor, according to Arizona Luminaria’s UA salary database.
“The complete integration of health sciences activities into university operations allows us to align resources, reduce administrative redundancy and build a leaner structure that reflects our commitment to fiscal responsibility,” Prelock and Díaz de la Rubia wrote.