View of the urban farm and surrounding buildings

President's Council

Profile Dr.David ColeDavid J. Cole, M.D., FACS

President, Medical University of South Carolina

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.

Richard L. AndersonRichard L. Anderson, CPA, MBA

Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations

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.

Kate AziziKate Azizi, MBA

Vice President of Institutional Advancement

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.

Caroline Brown, Chief External Affairs OfficerCaroline Brown, MBA

Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

Caroline Brown is the Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health. The Office of Strategy and External Affairs works to advance MUSC's vision and mission through (1) thoughtful and innovative strategic planning and (2) meaningful collaborations and partnerships with external stakeholders ranging from global industry leaders to state and local partners. The team is dedicated to understanding where the healthcare industry is headed and ensuring MUSC is Leading Health Innovation for the Lives We Touch.

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 Caroline's leadership. She also oversees strategic planning for the health system and provides executive oversight to the OneMUSC enterprise strategic plan.

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

A Charleston native fueled by the opportunity to impact the health of all South Carolinians, she 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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Cathie Cannon, MBACathie 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 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.

Profile Patrick Cawley, M.D.Patrick J. Cawley, M.D.

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

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.

MUSC Chief Equity Officer Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D.Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D.

Chief Equity Officer

Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D., serves as chief equity officer for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health and leads the Office of Equity. Under his leadership, the Office of Equity spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of equity, with the goal of every member of the MUSC family feeling genuinely welcomed, included and engaged, promoting a profound sense of belonging. He and his team partner with leaders across the academic health system to drive innovative health equity efforts to increase health care access and quality and to improve health outcomes for all South Carolinians.

De Arellano came to MUSC in 1995, and he joined the faculty in 1998 as a clinical psychologist at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His health equity work at the NCVC has focused on increasing access to evidence-based mental health services for trauma-exposed youth and families from traditionally underserved backgrounds through a variety of in-person (e.g., home-based, school-based) and virtual (e.g., telehealth) programs. In addition, he currently provides training and technical assistance to communities affected by mass violence, in his role in the National Mass Violence Center. He earned his Bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Miami, and he earned his Master's and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He interned and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in traumatic stress at the NCVC at MUSC.

Visit the Office of Equity

Profile Annette DrachmanAnnette R. Drachman, MHA, JD

General Counsel

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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Jonathan Edwards, M.D., MBA

MUSC Physicians President, Chair, Department of Neurology

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.

Jesse Goodwin, Ph.D.Jesse Goodwin, Ph.D.

Chief Innovation Officer

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.

Profile Eugene Hong, M.D.Eugene S. Hong, M.D.

Chief Physician Executive, MUSC Physicians

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.

Lori McMahonLori L. McMahon, Ph.D.

Vice President for Research

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.

Profile Dr. Lisa SaladinLisa K. Saladin, Ph.D., FAPTA, FASAHP, PT

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

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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Steyer TerrenceTerrence E. Steyer, M.D.

Dean, College of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs

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.

Profile Mark SweatmanMark Sweatman, MPA

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

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.

Dawn Hartsell, MUSC Chief of Staff, Office of the President 

Dawn Hartsell, MBA

Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Profile photo of Katherine Haltiwanger 

Katherine Haltiwanger

Secretary to the Board of Trustees