Ricardo Azziz

Ricardo Azziz is a Uruguayan-American higher education and biomedical executive administrator and researcher who serves as Principal of SPH Consulting Group. He also serves as Executive Director of the non-profit Foundation for Research and Education Excellence and Director of the Center for Higher Education Mergers and Acquisitions at the Foundation.

In addition to his medical degree, Azziz obtained master's degrees in Public Health and Business Administration. He served as president of Georgia Regents University (now Augusta University) in the U.S. state of Georgia and was chief executive officer of its health system, Georgia Regents Medical Center (now Augusta University Medical Center). He had faculty and department chair positions at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and University of Alabama at Birmingham, and was in health and hospital administration at the State University of New York.

As of 2019, Azziz has authored more than 500 publications, with a research focus in biomedical sciences, specifically androgen excess disorders in women. He is a recognized expert in female reproductive disorders, particularly androgen excess and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Between 1985 and 1987, he was an ob/gyn instructor at Johns Hopkins. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and his M.B.A. from there At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, he was a professor and vice chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Georgia: 2010–2015

In March 2010, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) announced that Azziz would be named the eighth president of what was then called the Medical College of Georgia (MCG), USG's health sciences university. Then-governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue attended a July 10 signing ceremony as Azziz formally assumed the presidency at MCG and also became the CEO and chairman of a new entity, MCG Health Systems, Inc., which brought the university hospitals and clinics under the authority of Azziz via a joint operating agreement.

Azziz drew public scrutiny in August 2010 when he proposed changing the name of MCG to something with "university" in its name, in order to acknowledge that MCG included schools other than medicine. Azziz said that the medical school (Medical College of Georgia) would retain its name, but that the university would have a new name, encompassing all of the colleges (for example, dentistry and nursing).

Azziz said in 2011 that Georgia lacked enough medical residency slots, and that Georgia struggled to graduate enough nurses; as such, more residency positions were needed in-state to retain graduates. In 2011, the MCG-affiliated hospitals also changed their names and a new partnership was launched to make more physicians available, help students complete rotations in different specialties, and develop better synergies among partners.

Azziz chaired the Consolidation Working Group to combine Augusta State University and GHSU to become Georgia Regents University (GRU, now Augusta University), which the Regents called "a bold move to create a new university that builds on the strength of two institutions with distinct missions". The USG Regents identified goals for consolidating institutions to "ensure the System has a 21st century structure with the right network of institutions offering the proper range of degrees". In 2012, former Regent William S. Morris III, chairman of Morris Communications, resigned from the GHSU board over the proposed name change, disappointed with Azziz that the word Augusta was not in the name. Characterizing the new name as an affront to the city of Augusta, Morris said of Azziz, "The naming convention you have advocated, and now gained endorsement from the Georgia regents, lacks sensitivity to the enormous community good will that has been cultivated over the years."

The joining of a primarily graduate and professional level research university with selective admissions standards and a primarily undergraduate level university was described by regents Chair Philip Wilheit as "one of the most complex consolidations undertaken in [Georgia] ... if not in the country". Azziz delivered a report to the Regents in September 2014, describing progress towards meeting consolidation goals, including increases retention, standards, enrollment, funding and giving, with a 10% decline in administrative costs. Azziz stated the consolidation had resulted quickly in administrative cost cuts, and that "it is much more costly to maintain all of the moving parts at a small college than at a larger university". Hank Huckaby, a chancellor, said the decision was voluntary, and Georgia Representative Barbara Sims said Azziz had completed his mission, describing him as a "visionary" adding that "most of the things he initiated will continue". In September of the same year, the Regents voted unanimously to change the name to Augusta University.

During Azziz's 2014 application for the presidency at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, questions were raised about the Augusta name change and other controversies including the proposed cost of a new carport for the president's home (which Azziz said was needed for staging events, but the project was cancelled), and his use of a university bus to transport guests at his niece's wedding (a cost of about $400, which was reimbursed).

Since 2015 After leaving Augusta,

He served as Chief Officer of Academic Health and Hospital Affairs for the State University of New York (SUNY) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. As of 2019, he served as the senior executive director.

In 2005 Azziz was appointed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the regulatory body for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. and has advocated for furthering diversity and inclusion in higher education.

Research focus Azziz is a recognized expert in female reproductive disorders, particularly androgen excess and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Books

Personal life Azziz married Cindy Beckham and has three children. with a published retrospective. His work was exhibited at the Art Department at Georgia Regents University.

Honors and awards Cheston M. Berlin Award, Penn State Univ. College of Medicine Alumni Society, 1992 Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society of AACSB Accredited Business Programs, 2000 Society for Gynecologic Investigation President's Achievement Award for Clinical Research, 2000 Recipient of the Endowed "Helping Hand of Los Angeles Chair in Obstetrics & Gynecology" Chair, 2002 –2010 100 Most Influential Georgians – Georgia Trend magazine, 2011–2015 Elected member of the Association of American Physicians, 2014–present Alumni Fellow Award of the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) Alumni Association, 2014 PCOS Challenge Leadership and Advocacy Award, PCOS Challenge, 2014 Establishment of endowed "Ricardo Azziz PCOS Challenge Advocacy Leadership Award", PCOS Challenge, Inc. Establishment of endowed "Ricardo Azziz Presidential Scholarship", GRU Board of Visitors Establishment of endowed "Ricardo Azziz Distinguished Researcher Award", Androgen Excess & PCOS Society, Inc. June 2, 2015 proclaimed "Ricardo Azziz Day", City of Augusta Birmingham Business Journal Who's Who in Nonprofits, 2020 UAB Excellence in Business Top 25 award, 2021 PCOS Challenge 'International Researcher of Influence Award', 2022