University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) seeks an accomplished leader and scientist to serve as Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the Department of Psychiatry. The Chief will have the opportunity to significantly build upon the research and academic programs for the division while helping to ensure outstanding mental health care for the children of one of the nation’s fastest growing regions.

It is an exciting time at UTSW and the Department of Psychiatry, with a newly appointed and internationally recognized chair Dr. Tarek Rajji and the building of a new 296-bed psychiatric hospital, the Texas Behavioral Health Center. The adult facility with 200 beds is estimated to be completed by late 2025, with a pediatric addition of 96 beds to follow by early 2026. This comes from combined funding of $482.5 million dollars from the Texas legislature and Children’s Health and is the only state psychiatric hospital on the campus of an academic medical center in Texas. This new facility will give the Division and Department greater opportunities to support and serve populations suffering from mental illness in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Additionally, the State of Texas supports specialized programs for child mental health through the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium.

The Chief will develop and foster a vision for the Division for the years to come, with a strong focus on developing a robust research portfolio, emphasizing grant-funding, scholarly output, and high-impact journal publications. This role involves fostering an exceptional teaching environment, continuously advancing the medical education curriculum and training programs, while continuing to recruit, train and retain faulty to grow the Division. The Division Chief will partner with the Chief of Service within the Division, to continue building statewide and national relationships for the Department and their clinical partners.

The Division is comprised of 78 faculty, of which 31 are psychiatrists and 47 are clinical psychologists, and includes both a residency (combined 5-year program) and fellowship program. The Department’s nearly 300 faculty have expertise in virtually all areas pertinent to modern psychiatric practice ranging from psychoanalysis to neurobiology to psychiatric epidemiology and boasts a robust program in psychiatric neuroscience, interventional (neuromodulation based) psychiatry and depression research. The Department is one of four clinical departments affiliated with the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, an internationally recognized academic institution (housed within UTSW) and renowned for its research, medical education, and patient care in treating major forms of brain and spine diseases.

Psychiatry services at UT Southwestern are provided for a highly diverse patient population at multiple locations, including programs at UT Southwestern University Hospitals, Parkland Hospital, the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, the UT Dallas Student Mental Health Center, Children’s Medical Center, Terrell State Hospital, and Metrocare Services at The Bridge, a multipurpose facility dedicated to serving unhoused individuals, as well as outpatient and specialty clinics in the community. The Department also collaborates with several local community agencies to provide expanded care for the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area.

UT Southwestern Medical Center is one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, especially well-known for both the quality of its science and outstanding clinical care, and fundamentally committed to integrating pioneering biomedical research with clinical care and education. The medical center’s faculty includes many distinguished scientists; among them are 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators. Since 1985, six members of the UTSW faculty have been recipients of Nobel Prizes.

The ideal candidate will be an active clinical researcher with a strong record in translational research, proven ability to lead in a complex, matrixed academic enterprise and demonstrated scholarly achievement of national recognition. Applicants must have an MD/DO with board certification in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and be eligible for appointment as an associate or full professor. Outstanding PhD candidates will also be considered.

Confidential applications, inquiries, and nominations can be directed to UTSW’s executive search partners Jeff Schroetlin and Megan Welch at WittKieffer via email at UTSWChildPsychiatry@wittkieffer.com.

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community.  As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information. To the extent this position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 113.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the critical infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired and to continue to be employed in the position.

Appointment rank will be commensurate with academic accomplishment and experience. Consideration may be given to applicants seeking less than a full-time schedule.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/