60Craig Kent, MD, has spent three decades committed to health system leadership, focusing on expanding patient access, improving care quality, and treating patients with the most complex needs. Throughout his career, he has successfully balanced clinical expertise, academic leadership, and research advancement while helping to shape the future of healthcare through his educational and national organizational roles.
Dr. Craig Kent has led various prestigious institutions throughout his career. He served as Division Chief in Vascular Surgery at both Columbia University and Cornell University and was responsible for directing the Vascular Service line at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His leadership path continued as Chair of the Department of Surgery at The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He later served as Dean of the College of Medicine, Vice President for Health Sciences, and Co-Leader of the Health System at Ohio State University. Most recently, he held the role of Executive Vice President of Health Affairs and CEO at the University of Virginia Health System.
His leadership and research contributions earned him induction into the National Academy of Medicine. He has also held national leadership positions as President of the Society for Vascular Surgery, President of the Society of Surgical Chairs, and Chair of the American Board of Surgery, reflecting his continued involvement in improving surgical practice and medical education on a national level.
As a researcher, Craig Kent has maintained continuous support from the National Institutes of Health for over 30 years. He has chaired the NIH’s Surgery and Bioengineering study section and has contributed to several other panels. His research encompasses topics such as molecular vascular disease and healthcare quality and outcomes. He has authored 360 peer-reviewed publications and written 65 books and book chapters. His work has been featured in widely respected journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In addition to his research, Dr. Kent has contributed to academic literature through editorial service. He has served as editor or associate editor for the Annals of Vascular Surgery, Contemporary Surgery, and Haimovici’s Vascular Surgery and has participated on the editorial boards of numerous journals.
As a public speaker, Craig Kent, MD, has been invited to speak or serve as a Visiting Professor at more than 120 academic medical centers worldwide. His most recent leadership role at UVA Health led to significant growth for the system. Under his guidance, annual revenue rose from $2.5 billion to $4.7 billion. Patient access and clinical services nearly doubled, and care quality reached its highest levels in a decade. Despite industry-wide disruptions such as COVID-19 and staffing challenges, employee satisfaction improved by over 15 percent across the system’s 18,000 staff members.
During this time, Dr. Kent helped recruit over 500 new physicians and faculty. The system expanded its presence across the state with the acquisition of three hospitals and a physician group in Northern Virginia, along with a minority stake in a five-hospital system in Eastern Virginia and the purchase of a multi-specialty group. The UVA School of Medicine also experienced a $60 million increase in research funding. Additionally, he led efforts to establish the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
Craig Kent also supported major philanthropic achievements. He helped triple philanthropic giving to UVA Health, raising over $650 million and achieving the health system’s target within a billion-dollar fundraising campaign. At Ohio State, he was responsible for 2,100 faculty members and a physician practice comprising more than 1,200 clinicians. His leadership led to increased NIH funding, the recruitment of over 400 new faculty members, the implementation of new compensation structures, and $200 million in annual fundraising. Facility growth and clinical expansion were also major parts of his work there.
While at the University of Wisconsin, he led efforts to double the size and volume of the Department of Surgery and raised its NIH funding ranking from 26th to 5th in the country. Following the merger of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospitals, he led the vascular divisions of both Columbia and Cornell, overseeing one of the largest and best-funded vascular surgery programs in the country.
Dr. Kent has earned numerous awards throughout his career. He became an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and held professorships at Cornell, Columbia, the University of Wisconsin, The Ohio State University, and the University of Virginia. His honors include induction into Alpha Omega Alpha at UCSF, the Fred and Ester Nusz Annual Achievement Award, the Harold Bengloff Award, and the E. J. Wylie Traveling Fellowship. He has also been recognized multiple times with Top Doctor and Best Doctor awards based on his clinical work.
He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, San Francisco. His postdoctoral training includes a surgical residency at UCSF, a vascular research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an endovascular fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, and a leadership development program at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has held medical licenses in Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Virginia.
Dr. Kent is an active member of many professional organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, American Heart Association, Society for Vascular Surgery, American Surgical Association, Society of Surgical Chairs, International Surgical Group, American Board of Surgery, Blue Ridge Academic Health Group, and the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.