Dr. Thomas Krummel – one of four University Medical School dean candidates – has dropped out of the running, University officials announced last week.

Academic Health Center Senior Vice President Frank Cerra said Krummel’s withdrawal would not affect the school’s hiring timeline.

Krummel, of the surgery department chairman at Stanford University School of Medicine, made the decision because his family does not wish to move, Cerra said.

“We still have an outstanding pool, and the process will continue,” he said.

The three remaining candidates are Dr. Eli Adashi, obstetrics and gynecology chairman at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center; Dr. Deborah Powell, University of Kansas Medical Center executive dean and vice chancellor for clinical affairs; and Dr. Nicholas LaRusso, professor of medicine and chairman of the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Department.

A search committee recommended Krummel and the three remaining candidates to Cerra in April. Cerra said he plans to make his final decision by the end of June, in time for the Board of Regents to approve it at the July meeting.

Once the board approves the hire, the new dean will likely report to work within a couple of months, Cerra said. He said there would be no need for an interim dean.

– Dan Haugen