Douglas Allan Girod (born May 5, 1958) is an American educator, medical doctor, and the 18th
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
chancellor. Prior to becoming chancellor, he was the
University of Kansas Medical Center's executive vice chancellor, a position he had held since February 2013. Before being promoted to the executive vice chancellor at the
University of Kansas Medical Center, Girod was the senior dean for the
School of Medicine
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
while dually serving as a surgeon at the
University of Kansas Health System
The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education c ...
where he began his career in 1994. He is also a veteran of the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
.
Biography
Education
Born and raised in
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...
, Girod graduated from the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, followed by
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
for his doctor of medicine, and completed his residency and an
National Institute of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1 ...
research fellowship at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
Career
Beginning in 1982, Girod began his 15-year career in the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
where he worked at the
Naval Hospital Oakland as a surgeon and the Director of
Otolaryngology. In 1997, Girod was discharged from the military honorably, ending his career as a Lieutenant Commander. In 1994, Girod left California to become a surgeon at the KU Medical Center. During his time at the KU Medical Center, Girod was a professor, department chair, senior associate dean, interim executive dean, and his most recent post of executive vice chancellor.
University of Kansas chancellor
On May 25, 2017, the
Kansas Board of Regents
The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members that governs six state universities in the U.S. state of Kansas. In addition to these six universities, it also supervises and coordinates nineteen community colleges, five technic ...
announced Girod as the 18th chancellor of the University of Kansas. During his time as chancellor, Girod has increased the university's enrollment, established a partnership between
Kansas Athletics, the
University of Kansas Health System
The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education c ...
and Lawrence Memorial Health to create Kansas Team Health, a model that provides better care for student athletes and moved all healthcare professionals under the Kansas Health System's payroll.
A year into being chancellor, Girod fired athletic director
Sheahon Zenger
Sheahon Jay Zenger (born April 13, 1966) has three decades of experience in academic and athletic administration, development, and coaching. Zenger serves as the interim president for the University of New Haven, a position he has held since J ...
due to a lack of progress. Almost a month later, Girod hired
Jeff Long as the new athletics director, tasking him to fix the
football program. Long fired
David Beaty at the end of the
2018 football season, ending with a 6–42 record at Kansas. Long then hired
Les Miles to get the football program to become a championship program, however, he was fired on March 9, 2021, after accusations from women while he was at
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
. The next day, Girod fired Long as the athletics director.
In April 2021, Girod hired
Travis Goff
Travis Goff (born September 28, 1979) is an American athletics director and the 16th director of athletics for the University of Kansas. Prior to being named as Kansas' athletic director, Goff spent the previous twenty years as a development admin ...
as the new athletics director, whose first task was to hire a new football coach. Almost a month later, Goff named
Lance Leipold as the next football coach. Leipold, in just his second season, led the Jayhawks to a 5–0 start for the first time since
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and also coached the team to be bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008.
Personal life
Girod is married to Susan Pirtle and they have three children. Girod and his wife live in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
.
References
External links
University of Kansasprofile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girod, Douglas
Chancellors of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas faculty
University of California, Davis alumni
University of California, San Francisco alumni
University of Washington alumni
1958 births
Living people
Educators from Kansas
People from Salem, Oregon
United States Navy Medical Corps officers
Military personnel from Oregon
Leaders of the University of Kansas Medical Center