Jerry Schissler has been named Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Strategy and Analytics for the Biological Sciences Division. Schissler has served as the Hematology and Oncology Section Administrator alongside Sonali Smith, MD, Elwood V. Jensen Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Hematology and Oncology, for more than 14 years. As a key member of the Hematology and Oncology leadership team, Schissler has been responsible for finance, analytics, and faculty recruitment, while heading a leadership team responsible for 150 staff. He partnered with the Cancer Service Line and other institutional leaders to implement strategic plans for ambulatory and network expansion, and he facilitated growth of a robust clinical research infrastructure that manages hundreds of active therapeutic trials. Schissler and his team also developed a suite of productivity dashboards that are shared widely across the BSD and UChicago Medicine.
Schissler brings both technical skills and a collaborative style to his new role to deliver more effective information with better tools and systems to analyze business, adding value for faculty and administration. He will focus on leading the 10‐year and annual strategic planning process for the BSD, as well as directing the development and execution of advanced analytical models to support decision‐making across the organization.
In this role, Schissler will report to Bess Wildman, Vice Dean for Academic Administration and Finance, and work closely with both BSD and UCM information systems, finance, and operations teams to develop and model scenarios for growth and performance, guide investment decisions, assess performance, and facilitate transparency. He will be instrumental in building and nurturing partnerships across the enterprise to drive innovation and support the Elevate 2035 strategic plan.
Prior to his long tenure as a Section Administrator, Schissler was the Director of Budgets and Financial Operations for a consortium of BSD neuroscience clinical and basic science research departments. He began his career at the University as a Budget Analyst in the BSD Budget Office. He later left as the Assistant Budget Director, overseeing a $350 million budget process for numerous clinical and basic science departments.
