University provost steps down, returns as faculty

Mark S. Sothmann, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs and provost, stepped down from his administrative position last month after almost a decade of service to MUSC.

“Dr. Sothmann has a unique balance of judgment, ethical leadership and excellence that has had a significant impact on who and where we are at this point as an institution,” said MUSC President David Cole, M.D., FACS.  “We all need to take a moment to thank Dr. Sothmann for the nine years he gave to MUSC as provost and interim president. I wish him the best in his future endeavors. He will be missed.”

Sothmann was named the dean of the College of Health Professions in 2007, just before the global financial crisis hit, sending the academic and research worlds into turmoil. He became the provost in 2010 and served as interim president from August 2013 to June 2014, helping to shepherd his college, and later the entire university, through the roughest patches of the recession and years of uncertainty that followed.

“I don’t know if most people have a full appreciation of the shock that hit this university and all universities,” Sothmann said. “We had 50 percent of our state appropriations pulled out of the university in a two–year period. That was unheard of prior to the recession.”

Speculation in the press led many to question whether MUSC and many other universities could survive, he said. Budget cuts necessitated restructuring, from the department to the university level, and state legislators even talked of forcibly merging MUSC with the College of Charleston as a way to consolidate funding.

“I’ve learned over the past six years, as provost, what the character of the organization truly is,” Sothmann continued. “MUSC took that hit and then picked itself up and began to look for ways to drive innovation and turn those challenges into opportunities.”

In collaboration with Lisa Montgomery, executive vice president for finance and administration, Sothmann implemented a responsibility–centered management model for MUSC, which helped to stanch much of the financial bleeding. Prior to the recession, MUSC was like many other universities in using legacy budget models that lacked transparency. Sothmann worked to change that.

“Responsibility–centered management is much more than a budgeting system; it’s a decision–making model,” Montgomery explained. “It requires complete transparency in how funds flow, which allows us to make data-driven decisions based on our strategic priorities. In working hand-in-hand with Dr. Sothmann on this issue, I witnessed how RCM better aligned accountability with authority. It was critical in allowing MUSC to move forward after the recession and position itself for future success. Mark’s leadership and support were key.”

One measure of that success? According to Sothmann, MUSC reached, this year, the highest level of external research funding in its history, while also graduating the most students in its history. “At the end of the day, those are the fundamental missions of this university,” he said.

Still, new challenges face MUSC going forward. And, while Sothmann will leave many of them to his successor, he is confident MUSC will meet those future challenges head on.

One of those challenges deals with the relationship between MUSC’s academic and clinical missions. The Medical University has historically relied on revenue from the clinical enterprise to support the academic mission. Now, that’s changing. “The clinical enterprise is being challenged now in much the same way the university was challenged in 2010,” Sothmann said. “MUSC is going to have to find ways to balance its academic and clinical missions. That is very high on President Cole’s list of priorities and that of MUSC leadership.”

Sothmann believes academic diversification is the key to better positioning MUSC for the future. According to Sothmann, MUSC must continue to grow and diversify its research revenue by supporting the entrepreneurial activities of faculty and wooing private investors.

The university must also diversify its educational agenda, for example, by expanding degree programs to better meet student and industry needs and offering more online educational opportunities, which will not only provide flexibility for students but also help reduce costs for the organization.

“MUSC has historically been focused on educating health care practitioners and health care administrators,” Sothmann said. “But, consider that health care is 17 percent of the gross domestic product; that means it’s an industry unto itself.”

Sothmann explained that by offering degree programs in areas such as health care technologies, bioengineering or entrepreneurship, MUSC will better meet industry needs and find itself on stronger footing.

Diversity and inclusion are also important to Sothmann. He believes diversity of thought is critical for innovation, and an open, inclusive environment is the key to growth.

“One of the areas that was just an emerging discussion when I came in as provost, and when I served as interim president was to advance diversity and inclusion,” he said. “This conversation has certainly been taken to an important higher level by President Cole.”

Upon becoming provost, Sothmann made the advancement of women in leadership a particular priority. Darlene Shaw, Ph.D., associate provost for educational affairs and student life, and MUSC’s chief institutional strategy officer, credits Sothmann, in part, with the success of the Women Scholars Initiative (WSI), a career development program dedicated to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women at MUSC.

“Dr. Sothmann has been personally dedicated to the advancement of women,” Shaw said. “Under Mark’s leadership, the Women Scholars Initiative provided training against unconscious bias to high–level search committees and other decision–making groups on campus. Mark has also asked the deans to submit information about the status of women in their colleges on an annual basis to aid in tracking progress. As called for in the institution’s strategy for the future, Imagine MUSC 2020, WSI is a vital part of our goal to increase diversity and inclusion, and we couldn’t have moved forward on that front without his support.”

While stepping down will be bittersweet for Sothmann after 35 years as a faculty member and 20 in academic leadership, he said it is the next logical step. He is looking forward to spending time with Kathleen, his wife of 37 years, and with his children, Stephen, 31, and Sarah, 30. He also hopes to have more time to write and travel.

In Sothmann’s six years as provost, he’s watched presidents, vice presidents and deans come and go. “One of the biggest changes that I’ve seen over the years is the change in leadership,” he said. “We’ve transitioned the presidency, the vice president for research, and five of the six deanships since I became provost.

“All leadership positions have a certain lifespan,” he continued. “You get done what you hope to get done, and then you try to find the sweet spot for a transition.”

Sothmann hopes the work he has done over the past six years will provide a solid foundation for the new provost to build upon.