PHILADELPHIA Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh, an accomplished physician, diabetes researcher and academic leader, has been named executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the School of Medicine.

In this role, he will lead the University of Pennsylvania Health System, widely recognized as one of the top academic health systems in the country. As executive vice president, he will report to Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania, and as dean, to Robert Barchi, provost. Robert Martin, Health System CEO, will report to Rubenstein.

"Arthur Rubenstein is an exceptional educator and an accomplished physician, scientist and leader who possesses the experience and skills necessary to lead Penn's Health System into the future," said President Rodin. " We are absolutely delighted about his decision to come to Penn."

Rubenstein, 63, has served for the past four years as dean and Gustave L. Levy Distinguished Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He is known at Mount Sinai for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, developing and implementing a comprehensive strategic planning process and for significant increases in federally funded research. He was on the faculty of the University of Chicago from 1967 to 1997, serving as chairman of Chicago Department of Medicine starting in 1981.

An internationally prominent endocrinologist, recognized for clinical expertise and groundbreaking research in diabetes, as well as for inspired teaching, he has been a member of the Institute of Medicine since 1985 and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has led the Association of American Physicians, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the Association of Professors of Medicine.

Author of more than 350 publications, Dr. Rubenstein has held editorial advisory positions with numerous respected journals, including service on the editorial boards of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications, Medicine and Clinical Trials Advisor. He was also a consulting editor to the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"With his years of experience and a keen appreciation for the challenges facing today's academic heath systems, we believe Dr. Rubenstein will lead Penn to even greater prominence in academic medicine," said Provost Barchi. "He is committed to closely coordinating the medical school's education and research mission with the clinical care offered by Penn's specialists, primary care doctors and other health-care providers," he said.

Rubenstein received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1960. He was affiliated with that institu-tion and the Johannesburg General Hospital while in South Africa and subsequently, with the Hammersmith Hospital in London.

"This is a critical time for Penn's Health System," said Rodin. "With the many financial challenges confronting America's medical schools and teaching hospitals, we face the future with a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished and with the expectation of growing momentum," she said.

Dwight L. Evans, M.D., chairman and professor of psychiatry at Penn, chaired the search committee for the executive vice president/dean position.

"On behalf of the search committee, I can say we are absolutely de-lighted that President Rodin has successfully recruited Arthur Rubenstein to be our new executive vice president/dean. Dr. Rubenstein is among the most highly respected and admired leaders in academic medicine today. I believe he will be received with great enthusiasm throughout the School of Medicine, Health System, and the University," said Dr. Evans.

As the nation first medical school, founded in 1765, Penn School of Medicine currently ranks second in total funding from the NIH, often considered one of the most reliable barometers of research strength. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to the School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania Health System also includes the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, a faculty practice plan comprising more than 940 specialists; the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Presbyterian Medical Center, and Phoenixville Hospital; more than 230 physicians in Penn primary-care network; a hospice; home care; a nursing home; and multispecialty satellite facilities.