President's Council

President, Medical University of South Carolina

David J. Cole, M.D., FACS

Dr. David J. Cole came to MUSC in 1994. In 2003 Dr. Cole was named the A. McKoy Rose, Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair in Surgical Oncology and was selected as Chairman for the Department of Surgery in September of 2007. Dr. Cole was then elected President of MUSC Physicians in 2013. He held these esteemed titles until becoming President of MUSC on July 1, 2014.

Dr. Cole received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from New Mexico State University and he received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. He interned and completed his residency at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta and his fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the NIH/NCI Surgery Branch in Bethesda.

Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations

Richard L. Anderson, CPA, MBA

Rick Anderson is responsible for capital and operating budget preparation and oversight of a number of enterprise and university units. Enterprise units include engineering and facilities, risk management and information services. University units include finance, university operations and strategic analytics and process improvement. He ensures the delivery of services and overall support of the university’s academic, research and clinical priorities, while leading a team of 1,000 employees and providing leadership in the development and continuous evaluation of short- and long-term strategic financial objectives and sound financial policy, including internal controls and risk management. Additionally, he has broad oversight of all campus physical planning and construction efforts, including collaboration with local and state regulatory agencies. Anderson has worked in public higher education for more than 30 years in roles of increasing responsibility through accounting, finance, operations and administration. Immediately prior to arriving at MUSC in October 2021, he served as the executive vice president for Finance and administration at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Anderson earned both of his degrees from Oklahoma State University; a Master’s in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Kate Azizi, MBA

Ms. Azizi is the Vice President of Institutional Advancement. She leads a team of philanthropy professionals who work on MUSC advancement initiatives for the university and health system in all markets -- local, regional, statewide and beyond.

Azizi joined MUSC in 2020 from her position as assistant dean for development at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Previously, Azizi held positions of increasing levels of responsibility at the University of Chicago, including more than three years as campaign director for individual giving and another three years plus as campaign director/senior director for principal gifts. Her academic experience also includes some five years in two positions with North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where she served as director of development and external relations at the Poole College of Management and as director of corporate and foundation relations for the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Azizi has taken courses and earned a certificate in leadership and executive education from Northwestern University and the Harvard Program on Negotiation, respectively. She received an MBA in marketing from NC State University and a B.A. from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

 

Chief External Affairs Officer

Caroline Brown, MBA

Caroline Brown is the Chief External Affairs Officer for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health. Brown’s responsibilities encompass both the university and the health system functions at MUSC, working to establish new strategic partnerships and overseeing the organization’s external affairs programs with key external stakeholders including corporations, universities, and economic engagement organizations.

MUSC’s strategic partnerships with Siemens Healthineers and Medtronic – two of the world’s largest medical device and solutions companies – were established and operationalized under Brown’s leadership. She also serves in an advisory role to the Office of the President as Special Assistant to President David Cole, M.D.

Brown is an innovative, results-driven leader with expertise in strategy; communications; establishing partnerships, affiliations, and joint ventures; deal making; and stakeholder relations.

Brown, a Charleston native, earned her undergraduate degree in public relations and a master’s degree in business administration from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

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Chief Equity Officer

Willette S. Burnham-Williams, Ph.D.

Willette S. Burnham-Williams, Ph.D., is an experienced senior leader in higher education administration and  developing strategic diversity initiatives and multi-faceted programs in small and large, public and private organizations.

Dr. Burnham-Williams became the interim chief equity officer for the enterprise in September 2020, having  joined MUSC in 2006, and serving as assistant professor and University Chief Diversity Officer since 2015. In 2017, she assumed the additional role of Title IX Coordinator and. Dr. Burnham-Williams is the senior strategist for diversity, equity and inclusion at MUSC. She spearheads major strategic goals and objectives for transforming the organization's culture of equity, inclusion and engagement.

Prior to joining the MUSC family Dr. Burnham-Williams’ she has held leadership positions at  Williamsburg Technical College, The Citadel Military College of SC, and The College of Charleston.  

She is a spokesperson on matters related to creating, enhancing andsustaining an inclusive organization and campus environment and is committed to partnering with leaders to build, foster and integrate comprehensive and intentional professional practices of equity and inclusion.

Dr. Burnham-Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College,Hartford, Connecticut and a Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophyin Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. Shecompleted 2 post-doctorate certificate programs: Health Care ExecutiveLeadership in Diversity and Inclusion from Georgetown University,Washington, DC and Harvard University’s Summer Institute for EducationalManagement (IEM). Additionally, she has participated in state and nationalwomen’s leadership development forums hosted by the American Councilon Education (ACE) and South Carolina Women in Higher Education (SCWHE).

Dr. Burnham-Williams currently serves on the national Advisory Board for Women in Healthcare (WIH), the Board of Directors for the SC Industry Liaison Group (SCILG), the Advisory Committee for Explore Charleston Heart for Hospitality and is a member of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE).

Visit the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Cathie Cannon, MBA

Chief Communications and Marketing Officer

Cathie came to MUSC from the University of Connecticut, UConn Health system, where she served as the assistant vice president for health marketing, and with substantial experience developing strategic marketing plans, guiding communications work (internal and external), and translating insights into action through digital marketing and process improvement strategies.

She offers MUSC a strong, collaborative mindset and understands the numerous demands and priorities that require communication efforts across the enterprise.

Cathie earned her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, her bachelor's degree from Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, and two certificates in leadership and business analytics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Chief Executive Officer, MUSC Health & Executive Vice President for Health Affairs

Patrick J. Cawley, M.D.

Dr. Patrick J. Cawley is the chief executive officer of MUSC Health and executive vice president for health affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina. In this role, he oversees all clinical matters as they relate to MUSC. During his leadership, MUSC has significantly expanded its clinical enterprise with a new children’s hospital, multiple ambulatory sites, development of additional clinical affiliates, and numerous novel joint ventures. Additionally, MUSC has become a national leader in telehealth and has continued as South Carolina’s #1 hospital/health system per U.S. News and World Report. Under Dr. Cawley’s leadership, MUSC continues to receive a number of quality awards across all domains of quality: safety, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

General Counsel

Annette R. Drachman, MHA, JD

As the General Counsel for the Medical University of South Carolina, Ms. Drachman serves as the chief legal officer for MUSC and is responsible for the legal affairs of the academic, research and clinical components of the University and Hospital Authority. Prior to her appointment as General Counsel in 2012, Ms. Drachman served as the Director of Legal Affairs and Associate General Counsel for Healthcare with the Medical University Hospital Authority. She has been an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management of the College of Health Professions at MUSC since 1999.

Ms. Drachman legal practice focuses primarily on governance, higher education and health law issues.

Ms. Drachman has a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a law degree from the University of South Carolina, and a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.

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MUSC Physicians President, Chair, Department of Neurology

Jonathan Edwards, M.D., MBA

As an epileptologist, Dr. Edwards is a member of the South Carolina Neurological Association, the American Epilepsy Society, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society. He has served on the scientific committee of several organizations, including the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, and has been a board member and examiner for the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology and for ABRET. He recently served as president of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society. Dr. Edwards has won numerous awards for teaching, research and patient advocacy.

Chief Innovation Officer

Jesse Goodwin, Ph.D.

Jesse Goodwin has spent more than a decade engaged in innovation across a broad range of medical therapies, with applications in academia and industry. She has a demonstrated track record for driving improved outcome metrics. Under her leadership, the Office of Innovation serves as a catalyst for innovations that ultimately create value for the MUSC enterprise, patients, and students. The office is charged with providing leadership and coordination of a robust innovation ecosystem supporting both intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship across the tripartite mission. Ultimately, the office aims to build a nationally recognized culture and capacity for innovation and facilitate the development of processes, technologies and strategies that produce real-world beneficial impact for those that MUSC serves. Prior to accepting the role of chief innovation officer at MUSC, Goodwin was vice president of development for the Zucker Institute for Applied Neurosciences. Goodwin also served as the deputy director for the MUSC Foundation for Research Development, the university’s technology transfer office. Prior to joining MUSC, Goodwin was the director of the medical device practice of a Boston-based intellectual property consulting firm. Goodwin received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Stony Brook University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Harvard-MIT HST program.

Chief Physician Executive, MUSC Physicians

Eugene S. Hong, M.D.

Dr. Hong is the Chief Physician Executive for MUSC Physicians and MUSC Health. In this position, he oversees the practice plan and serves as a senior leader in the health system. Hong is a leading authority on concussions, cardiac issues in athletes, overuse injuries and sports-injury prevention and has worked for decades as a team physician. He comes to MUSC from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he was an endowed chair and professor in the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine. He also served as chief of the division of primary care sports medicine, chair of the Drexel University Physician Board and associate dean for primary care and community health.

 

Vice President for Research

Lori L. McMahon, Ph.D.

Lori L. McMahon, Ph.D., is the vice president for research. In this role she serves as the institution's chief scientific officer, which includes responsibility for accreditation and regulatory affairs, university-wide promotion of research across all colleges and centers, representing the president and provost on internal and external research matters and identifying institutional research strategies and benchmarks in relation to the MUSC strategic plan.

McMahon graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.A. in biology/chemistry, before earning a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology at Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center. She completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center.

McMahon possesses more than 22 years of experience as a faculty member, educator and administrator. She is a federally funded basic and translational neuroscience researcher with numerous awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her work in the areas of neurodegenerative disease and neuropsychiatric illness, with a focus on synaptic plasticity and sex differences.

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

Lisa K. Saladin, Ph.D., FAPTA, FASAHP, PT

Lisa K. Saladin, PT, Ph.D. is the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for the Medical University of South Carolina. In this role, Dr. Saladin serves as the chief academic officer, responsible for institutional vision setting, strategic planning, oversight and investment for education and biomedical research. The Vice President for Research, Associate Provost for Educational Affairs and Student Life and the deans of the six colleges report to the Provost.

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Dean, College of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs

Terrence E. Steyer, M.D.

Dr. Steyer serves as Dean of the College of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he also holds the Gregory-Chandler Endowed Chair in Family Medicine. He is responsible for the educational and research missions of the College of Medicine and also provides strategic clinical leadership for MUSC–Physicians, the faculty practice of the Medical University of South Carolina.

A graduate of Allegheny College (BS in Mathematics) and Case Western Reserve University (MD), Dr. Steyer completed his family medicine residency training at Wake Forest University and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. Prior to being named Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dr. Steyer served MUSC as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Chief of the Primary Care Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence (ICCE). Dr. Steyer is an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, for which he served as National President from 2009-2010. He is an active researcher in the area of health care policy and leadership development for health care professionals, and his current work includes research on the evolution of primary care medicine at MUSC.

Chief of Governmental Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Board of Trustees

Mark Sweatman, MPA

Mark has over 25 years of governmental and lobbying experience, having worked for the SC Senate, SC Governor’s Office, and US Senate. He came to MUSC in 2007 from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, where he served as a lobbyist. He was elected by MUSC’s Board of Trustees in 2014 to serve as its Secretary and in 2022 was appointed to the position of Senior Advisor to the Board of Trustees. During his tenure at MUSC, Mark has secured many appropriations for MUSC, including funding for a statewide telehealth network and for the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.

Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina. A native of Chapin, SC, Mark and his wife Lisa live in Columbia with their three children.