UI replaces longest-serving dean with University of Kentucky researcher

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa’s longest-serving dean, heading toward retirement after 17 years, now has a successor — with a six-month job candidate search landing University of Kentucky research professor Jill M. Kolesar.

Kolesar — who coleads the Translational Oncology Program at that university’s Markey Cancer Center, serves as endowed chair in precision medicine, and is a research professor in the colleges of pharmacy and medicine there — will take over July 15 for outgoing UI College of Pharmacy Dean Don Letendre.

Having started his UI leadership stint in 2007, Letendre is the most tenured dean in the UI ranks — by far — with 10 of the university’s 13 college and program deans having started within the last six years. More than half started in 2020 or later.

Kolesar was one of three candidates to visit the UI in late April and early May about the job. Other finalists were:

Kolesar, besides her administrative leadership, is founder and chief executive officer of VesiCure Technologies — a startup developing a novel cell therapy to treat advanced-stage ovarian cancer, among other types, according to the University of Kentucky.

When asked whether she plans to stay on in that CEO role while also serving as UI dean, a UI spokesman said, “Dr. Kolesar is interested in continuing as the CEO of VesiCure Technologies and plans to further explore those possibilities in the coming weeks.”

“Dr. Kolesar’s impressive record of research and leadership, combined with her innovative vision, makes her an ideal choice as the next dean of the College of Pharmacy,” UI Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Kregel said in a statement. “Her dedication to multidisciplinary collaboration will drive the college forward, building on our strengths and creating new opportunities for growth and impact.”

Kolesar will earn an annual salary of $360,000 at the UI.

She’ll be appointed as the college’s “drug discovery” chair for a five-year term, bringing with it tens of thousands of dollars to spend on research and other activities in the college.

Letendre currently is earning a base salary of $370,000, although his total pay is $385,500, according to the UI salary database.

The university, in offering the job to Kolesar, will pay her up to $30,000 for moving expenses and provide up to another $30,000 for executive coaching.

“Jill, I am very excited about the future of the College of Pharmacy, and I am enthusiastic about you joining us in this important leadership role,” Kregel wrote in her May 20 offer letter.

“It is an honor to join the University of Iowa as the dean of the College of Pharmacy,” Kolesar said in statement. “This university's commitment to innovation, interdisciplinary partnerships, and excellence in health care solutions is inspiring, and I am excited to work with this exceptional community to advance our mission of education, research, pharmacy practice, and the pharmaceutical sciences.”

Among her research endeavors, Kolesar has extensive experience in oncology drug development and precision medicine, the university reported. She’s written more than 150 peer-reviewed research articles and has served as principal investigator on projects netting more than $15 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and other entities.

Kolesar’s hire means nine of the university’s 13 colleges and programs will be led by women deans.

Her job duties, according to her offer letter, include articulating a strategic vision for the college, enhancing the college’s research and academic excellence, implementing the current budget model and addressing financial and infrastructure resource issues. among other tasks.

By joining the UI, Kolesar will be making a return to the Big Ten — having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Wisconsin, sandwiching her time at the University of Texas, where she got her doctorate in the 1990s.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com