UT Health Science Center leader named executive director of library

UT announces appointment of interim EVP for academic affairs

HOUSTON - (Nov. 10, 2009) - L. Maximilian Buja, M.D., executive vice president for academic affairs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has been named executive director of the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center (HAM-TMC) Library by the Board of Directors, effective Dec.1.

"The staff of the HAM-TMC Library and I are very excited to have Dr. Buja as our new director," said Deborah Halsted, M.L.S., M.A., the library's interim executive director. "He has offered the HAM-TMC Library valuable leadership for many years as a board member and as chair of the library's Board of Directors. I envision extensive growth in our services during his tenure."

Peter Davies, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for research at the UT Health Science Center, has been named interim executive vice president for academic affairs, announced Larry R. Kaiser, M.D., president of the UT Health Science Center. When Buja joins the library's Board of Directors as executive director, Davies will also assume responsibility for the Office of Academic Affairs at the UT Health Science Center and will oversee academic program development, faculty affairs, institutional accreditation and student services for the UT Health Science Center's six schools.

Buja, who has been on the university's faculty since 1989, will remain a tenured professor at the UT Health Science Center while devoting time to furthering the library's mission. The university is one of eight governing institutions of the HAM-TMC Library.

"I am gratified by the confidence placed in me by the members of the Board of Directors who represent major institutions in the TMC," Buja said. "The HAM-TMC Library is a unique institution that has enhanced the stature and reputation of the TMC and its member institutions by providing invaluable intellectual resources to physicians, scientists, healthcare providers as well as the public."

"My vision as executive director is to provide leadership in accelerating the transformation of the HAM-TMC Library into a world-class and world-recognized biomedical information center at the forefront of the 21^st century's electronic knowledge and communication revolution, while at the same time maintaining the traditional strengths and service commitment of the library," Buja said.

HAM-TMC Library was founded in the Texas Medical Center in 1949 and is dedicated to providing excellent collections and services in support of the research, education and patient care programs of the TMC and the Houston area. The library, located in the Jesse H. Jones Library Building, currently provides access to 9,101 electronic journals, 172 databases, 5,167 electronic books and more than 357,000 book and journal volumes.

Buja, a physician-scientist, joined the university's faculty in 1989 as professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Beginning in 1996, Buja served as the dean of the UT Medical School for seven years. He has been the executive vice president for academic affairs since 2003.

"Dr. Buja's contribution to the academic life of the UT Health Science Center has been significant and greatly appreciated," Kaiser said. "His work in leading our Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaccreditation and in enhancing our academic programs has been very valuable to our institution."

The UT Health Science Center, founded in 1972, is part of the University of Texas System. It is a state-supported health institution comprised of six schools whose state funding is supplemented by competitive research grants, clinical revenues and private philanthropy.

Meredith Raine
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