Joe Robertson has been president of Oregon Health & Science University since September 2006, the culmination of a 30-plus-year career at OHSU.
As President, one of Dr. Robertson’s first actions was to lead OHSU’s strategic planning process. The plan has put OHSU at the leading edge of academic health centers nationally in terms of readiness for health care reform and a changing economic landscape. The emphasis on partnership to leverage scarce resources and promote excellence has led to a number of collaborative achievements, including: the establishment of an Oregon-based, integrated health system called OHSU Partners that combines the clinical services of OHSU, Salem Health and Tuality Healthcare; construction of the Collaborative Life Sciences Building, the first building on OHSU’s Schnitzer Campus, in conjunction with Portland State University (PSU), Oregon State University and the Oregon University System; and a partnership with Intel Corporation to develop next-generation computing technologies that advance the field of personalized medicine.
Dr. Robertson has been deeply involved in the State of Oregon’s health care Transformation project, serving on the Oregon Health Policy Board since its creation in 2009. The nine-member board is nominated by the Governor and serves as the policy-making and oversight body for the Oregon Health Authority. During his time as President, Dr. Robertson has also reasserted OHSU’s statewide role, serving a 96,000 square mile campus.
Dr. Robertson received his bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Yale University and earned his M.D. from Indiana University. In 1997 he completed an executive M.B.A. program at the University of Oregon, graduating as co-valedictorian. He serves on the Boards of the Portland branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Ford Family Foundation and the Oregon Business Council.
