Leadership

Policy Steering Committee

Jerry Youkey, MD

Vice President for Medical Services
Dean of Academic Services
Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center
Chair

Jerry Youkey, MD, has served as vice president for Medical Services and dean of Academic Services at Greenville Hospital System since 1998. He oversees a staff of 1,900 and budget of $190 million in his role as chief academic, research, and medical faculty and development officer. In addition to administrative duties, Dr. Youkey is a general vascular surgeon. After completing his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, he received his medical degree from Marquette Medical School in Milwaukee. He completed his internship and general surgery residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso and completed his fellowship in peripheral vascular surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

John Raymond, MD

Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs Vice Chair
Medical University of South Carolina

John Raymond, MD, serves as MUSC’s chief academic and research officer, overseeing a $180 million research budget and providing oversight of all of the academic programs of MUSC’s six health science colleges. He is a practicing nephrologist who plays active roles in clinical care, teaching, faculty mentorship and research. Dr. Raymond received his MD from Ohio State University and performed internship, residency, chief residency and nephrology fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center. He joined the faculty at MUSC in 1996 as the Dialysis Clinics, Incorporated (DCI) Professor of Medicine.

James D. Bearden, III, MD

Vice President of Clinical Research
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System

James D. Bearden, III, MD, is a practicing medical oncologist and director of the Gibbs Cancer Center at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. He was instrumental in helping the Gibbs Cancer Center become one of only ten community hospitals to practice in the National Cancer Institute’s Community Cancer Centers Program. A Citadel graduate, Dr. Bearden earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina in Charleston. He completed a three-year residency in Internal Medicine at USAF Medical Center Keesler in Biloxi, Mississippi. After this residency, he completed his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at USAF Medical Center, Wilford Hall in San Antonio, Texas.

Russell Pate, PhD

Vice President for Health Sciences
University of South Carolina

Russell Pate, PhD has been a member of the University of South Carolina (USC) faculty since 1974. As an exercise physiologist, his interests are in physical activity and physical fitness in children and the health implications of physical exercise. Dr. Pate has published more 150 scholarly papers and has authored and edited five books. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Heart Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Springfield College and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Oregon.

Christian E.G. Przirembel, PhD

Vice President for Research & Economic Development
Clemson University

Chris Przirembel became vice president for research at Clemson University on July 1, 2001; in 2004, he also assumed the leadership role for the university's economic development initiatives. He has served at Rutgers University and Clemson University as a faculty member and an academic administrator. Dr. Przirembel has held major national professional society positions, including membership on the board of directors for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and the American Society for Engineering Education.

James Raymond, MD

Chief Medical Officer
Palmetto Health

James “Jim” Raymond, MD, is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Palmetto Health and Associate Dean and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He attended Gettysburg College and holds advanced degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At Palmetto Health, he is responsible for the oversight of Palmetto Health’s graduate medical education programs consisting of over 230 residents and 150 faculty. His duties also include coordination of clinical quality initiatives across the system and supervision of the system’s research programs.

Richard Hoppman, MD

Dean of USC School of Medicine
University of South Carolina

Non-voting member

Jerry Reves, MD

Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of College of Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina

Non-voting member