February 14, 2013

Beck departing VU after 20 years

After more than two decades of service, Warren E. Beck, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior vice president for Finance, is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

After more than two decades of service, Warren E. Beck, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior vice president for Finance, is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Prior to the appointment to his current position in 2009, Beck served as VUMC’s vice president for Finance for Clinical Enterprise for 13 years.

During his tenure the scope of Beck’s responsibilities increased with the rapid growth of the Medical Center’s hospitals and clinics, culminating in financial oversight for all operational divisions within VUMC.

“Under Warren’s leadership, the Medical Center has become a national leader in academic medicine. With the team Warren has developed and mentored over many years, he leaves us in good hands as he departs for new opportunities,” said Brett Sweet, vice chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Vanderbilt University.

Since the inception of TennCare, Tennessee’s self-managed Medicaid program, Beck has helped guide the Medical Center’s relationship with the state’s TennCare Bureau. He has been instrumental in the financial oversight of VUMC’s provision of uncompensated care, an aspect of the Medical Center’s clinical mission that has grown to encompass hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

“Warren has been a highly effective leader for VUMC, having seen the Medical Center through periods of tremendous operational and financial growth,” said Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “We are deeply appreciative of his many years of service and his steadfast stewardship of our finances.”

Karen Nanney, vice president for VUMC enterprise-wide finance, will serve as the Medical Center’s interim senior VP for finance. Nanney joined Vanderbilt in 1988 and has since served in a variety of administrative roles of increasing responsibility.

A national search for Beck’s successor will begin immediately.