Announcing interim leadership at the College of Medicine, Hospital and Clinics

I am pleased to announce interim leadership for the University of Illinois College of Medicine and the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics. Enrico Benedetti, MD, FACS, has agreed to serve as the interim G. Stephen Irwin Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and Scott Jones, MHA, FACHE, has agreed to serve as the interim chief executive officer of the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics, effective Jan. 16, 2026, pending the approval of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

"The interim appointments of Dr. Benedetti and Mr. Jones reflect the university's unwavering pursuit of the broadest access to the highest level of educational, research, and clinical excellence," stated UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda. "Each of their distinguished careers exemplify our commitment to training the future leaders of medicine and translating that knowledge into care that makes a difference in our communities, across Illinois, and indeed globally. Dr. Barish and I are confident that they will be exceptional leaders for UIC during this critical moment in our university's history."

As a long-standing faculty member and physician-surgeon, Dr. Enrico Benedetti is currently the Warren H. Cole Endowed Chair in Surgery, professor and head of the department of surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and associate director of transplant surgery. Dr. Benedetti is a prominent leader in organ transplantation and in the use of robotic-assisted techniques in transplantation. He has to his credit many successful surgical firsts, including the first robotic donor nephrectomy for a living-donor kidney transplant, the first combined living-donor liver and bowel transplant from an adult to an infant, the first robotic combined kidney and pancreas procurement for a living-donor transplant, and the largest series of living-donor intestinal transplants in the world.

In addition to his many accomplishments, he is a longtime faculty member, having been with the university for more than three decades. Upon completing his medical school and surgical residency at the University of Florence (Italy), he moved to Chicago to complete an additional surgical residency at UIC in 1993. He completed a transplant surgery fellowship at the University of Minnesota before returning to UIC and the College of Medicine in 1994, where he rose through faculty ranks as associate professor and full professor in 2005. Dr. Benedetti is also the recipient of the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Humanitarian of the Year Award. Dr. Benedetti has published nearly 400 peer-reviewed articles and more than 30 book chapters and is the editor of the seminal book, "Living Donor Organ Transplantation."

Currently serving as chief operating officer of the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics, Scott Jones has extensive experience in managing both not-for-profit teaching health systems and private specialty hospital systems. He joined UI Health in 2019 as chief ambulatory operations officer and took on his current role as chief operating officer in 2023. As chief operating officer, Jones has managed the operations of our tertiary care hospital with 4,700 employees. He manages annual operations for over 16,000 admissions, 19,000 surgeries, 47,000 emergency department visits and 700 physicians. Significant accomplishments in this role include the implementation of a new governance structure for inpatient and outpatient surgical sites. He has also developed two multispecialty ambulatory clinics, led substantial efforts in quality improvement, spearheaded the ambulatory response during COVID-19, directed the transition to providing telehealth services and served as a leader in the transition to the Epic electronic health record.

Throughout his career, Jones has maintained a high level of attention to patient satisfaction and community impact. Prior to coming to UI Health, he led business development efforts, expanded facilities and programs, reduced safety events and oversaw capital investments.

I am confident that these two leaders have the experience and knowledge to lead our health system during this transition. A plan for the search process will be announced at a later date. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Jones and Dr. Benedetti on these interim roles.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

For more information, please contact: Margaret Moser [email protected]