Dr. Lee Goldman is a distinguished medical leader and cardiologist who served as dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine and chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center for 14 years from 2006 to 2020. A Yale University graduate with B.A., M.D., and M.P.H. degrees, Dr. Goldman established his academic foundation at Harvard Medical School where he held dual professorships in Medicine and Epidemiology from 1978 to 1995. He subsequently served as chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco from 1995 to 2006, significantly expanding the department's faculty from 325 to 550 members and tripling NIH funding during his tenure. His transition to Columbia University marked a pivotal chapter in academic medicine as he led one of the nation's premier medical institutions through a period of unprecedented institutional growth and innovation.
Dr. Goldman's most influential scholarly contribution came in 1987 when he established the Coronary Heart Disease Policy Model, a computer simulation framework that revolutionized how cardiologists set priorities for preventing and treating coronary disease. At Harvard, he pioneered one of the first chest pain evaluation units, a clinical innovation that has since become standard practice in hospitals across the United States. His research has consistently focused on improving medical care delivery through high-quality clinical investigation, particularly examining the costs and effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. As lead editor of the seminal Goldman-Cecil Medicine textbook, he has shaped medical education for generations of physicians, while his book Hospital Medicine established the foundation for the academic hospitalist specialty, fundamentally changing inpatient care delivery.
Under Dr. Goldman's leadership, Columbia University Irving Medical Center experienced extraordinary expansion, including the creation of four new academic departments in neuroscience, systems biology, emergency medicine, and medical humanities & ethics, alongside the development of over 1.8 million square feet of new or renovated facilities. He oversaw the elimination of need-based loans for medical students through a transformative partnership with Roy and Diana Vagelos, making Columbia the first among peer medical schools to meet students' financial needs entirely with scholarships. His stewardship of more than $2.5 billion in donations and his role in growing NIH research funding to spectacular heights cemented his legacy as a visionary administrator who understood that excellence in medicine requires both financial resources and strategic vision. Today, as professor emeritus at Columbia University, Dr. Goldman continues to influence medical education and healthcare delivery through his scholarship and mentorship, leaving an enduring impact on academic medicine that extends far beyond his formal leadership roles.
