UNC Health Care CEO Bill Roper to step down next year
William Roper, MD, the CEO of University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care and dean of its medical school, has announced he’ll be leaving both roles in May 2019.
He first joined the university as dean of its school for public health in 1997. He was then promoted to CEO of the healthcare system, dean of the medical school and vice chancellor for medical affairs in 2004.
“It has been a high honor to serve with so many talented and committed people,” Roper said in a statement. “I know that our team is well equipped to continue taking on the challenges of a rapidly evolving medical and health care landscape, Our mission, our patients and our providers are in good hands.”
On an academic level, the UNC School of Medicine has had its programs recognized on a national level under Roper’s leadership. U.S. News and World Report named it the No.1 school for primary care in its latest medical school rankings.
As an administrator, Roper has led UNC through a time of expansion. Its grown to a 13-hospital network with 30,000 employees and annual revenue of nearly $5 billion—double what it had brought in six years earlier.
“Without question, Dr. Roper has a proven track record of service to our state, our people and to our future health,” said Dale Jenkins, chair of the UNC Health Care board. “Throughout a long career of public service, he has made an impact on health care nationally, but most importantly, he has elevated health care to new levels here in North Carolina.”
What would’ve been the biggest expansion of the system, however, didn’t come to pass. UNC Health Care had announced a joint venture with the state’s largest provider, Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas HealthCare System), but the partnership fell apart in March 2018 over disagreements on the leadership structure of the organization—with Atrium reportedly insisting on majority control.
Roper, who will turn 70 this summer, would’ve been executive chairman of the combined system. When the deal was scuttled, he initially said he planned to stay with UNC. In an interview with the Raleigh News & Observer, he said the collapse of the Atrium deal had nothing to do with his departure.
“It's time,” Roper said in an interview. “I surely wasn't forced out.”
UNC said it will soon begin a search for Roper’s replacement. Roper’s future plans include taking a one-year sabbatical after his May 2019 departure and then return to teaching at the UNC medical school as a professor of pediatrics.
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.