By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dr. Donald Harrison is retiring as senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the University of Cincinnati. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

For the past 16 years, Dr. Donald Harrison has been the most powerful figure in Tristate medicine.

As senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Harrison was paid more than $360,000 a year to oversee a sprawling health organization with an estimated $3 billion a year economic impact on the city.

Tens of thousands worked for him. Hundreds of thousands got medical care through organizations he controlled.

Dr. Harrison hired the deans who ran the schools where about 80 percent of Tristate doctors and many of the nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals got their training.

He co-founded the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, the region's largest health care system.

The fact that his name hasn't been a household word in Greater Cincinnati reflects how insulated the world of academic medicine can be. It also reflects Dr. Harrison's own efforts to work behind the scenes whenever possible.

With the announced retirement of UC president Joe Steger, a whole new generation of leaders is flowing into the system, which is why Dr. Harrison has also stepped into retirement.

"There's an old adage about moving on when things are going well," said Dr. Harrison, 69. "It's the right time for somebody else to come in and build off that."

During his tenure, research funding at UC soared from $30 million in 1986 to $209 million in 2002.

Accomplishments

Dr. Harrison said he would like to be remembered for transforming the medical center into a national player.

"It still has a long way to go, but we're a player now. If I did anything for this university over my 16 years, it was to get people to think better of themselves, to believe that we could compete with the East and West Coasts. I was fortunate to be able to recruit a team that made that happen."

CAREER MILESTONES

1954: Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Birmingham Southern College 1958: Medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine 1964: Chief medical resident, Stanford University 1967: Chief of cardiology, Stanford University 1984: Named co-director of the Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Stanford 1986: Senior vice president and provost for health affairs, University of Cincinnati. 1996: Named chairman of the Health Alliance

Dr. Harrison points to four key accomplishments: building a more entrepreneurial culture within the institution; recruiting a generation of leaders within the UC medical complex, including deans for all four medical-related schools and 22 department chairs; building the infrastructure to support growth, including eight medical construction projects during his tenure and the acquisition of the Aventis lab in Reading; and a willingness to take calculated, sometimes controversial risks.

He's particularly proud of the the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, which opened in 1999 and was designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.

"That was my favorite. It's different. It says you're really in the big time," Dr. Harrison said. "And the city got a good deal out of it, too. To get the space we needed we built the recreation center for the city over on University Avenue."

Taking risks

After the murders at Drake Center committed by serial killer Donald Harvey were uncovered in 1987, Dr. Harrison was deeply involved in the decision to move the rehabilitation center from county control to university control and with the hiring of tough-talking administrator Earl Gilreath who led efforts to keep the center open. On the county commission at the time: Ohio Gov. Bob Taft.

"I can't remember how many nights we spent, way into the morning, trying to get that thing turned around," Dr. Harrison said.

He also faced controversy with the privatization of University Hospital.

In November 1995, Dr. Harrison wrote a memo in which he secretly sought support from the Voinovich administration to allow the public hospital to restructure without a vote from the state legislature.

Community outrage over the proposal and the process led to several rancorous public meetings held in 1996, but ultimately did not stop the reorganization.

"Yes, being more open about it probably would have helped. But I think some of the controversy would have happened anyway," Dr. Harrison said.

Challenges

Dr. Harrison said the UC medical complex is in strong position for the future.

The UC Physicians group and the Health Alliance are reaching out to Butler County and Warren County residents with a high-tech medical campus under construction at University Pointe.

In Reading, the Genome Research Institute, designed to be Greater Cincinnati's vehicle for mining the scientific mother lode exposed by the Human Genome Project, has just begun its work.

A challenge will be to convince state officials and private investors to continue supporting biotech research and development in Ohio.

"I helped set an agenda with the Millennium Plan. We've made some progress but ... the next leader will have plenty to do," Dr. Harrison said.

Dr. Harrison argued for years that the medical center should be viewed as a leading source of economic development.

It was on Dr. Harrison's watch that UC started issuing economic impact statements about the medical center. According to the latest one, the overall impact from research money flowing to town and spending on wages and supplies exceeds $3 billion a year.

The future

Dr. Harrison plans to spend more time with his wife, Laura, and their eight grandchildren. He wants to do more fishing and to sneak away more often to the house he keeps in Lake Tahoe.

But like so many doctors who never really retire, Dr. Harrison isn't close to quitting. He still has an office at UC. He has surprised many friends by choosing to continue living in Indian Hill instead of moving back to California.

Dr. Harrison plans to help recruit an international scientific advisory board for UC's new Genome Research Institute.

He plans to spend much more time as a biotech entrepreneur.

Dr. Harrison also plans to maintain seats on several corporate boards, including the locally based Kendle International Inc.

E-mail tbonfield@enquirer.com