Current Trends in US Ophthalmology Leadership Appointments: Descriptive and Comparative Analysis of Chairs Turnover in the Past Decade

Abstract

Objective

To characterize, analyze, and compare the profiles of United States (US) academic ophthalmology department chairs appointed in the past decade with those of their predecessors.

Design

Trend study.

Subjects

Sixty US ophthalmology chairs appointed from 2015 to 2024, and the 60 chairs they replaced.

Methods

Online search of publicly available resources conducted December 31, 2024.

Main Outcome Measures

Department chairs demographic and academic data.

Results

Chairs appointed in the past decade are on average significantly older than those appointed previously (54 years vs 50 years, P = .001). Additionally, they have a longer experience since residency completion (24 years vs 18 years, P = .001). The number of female chairs appointments increased significantly in the last 10 years; however, most new chairs continue to be males. Currently, females constitute 22% (n = 13) of appointed chairs, in contrast to 7% (n = 4) of retiring chairs (P = .033). A higher percentage of appointed chairs (20%, n = 12 vs 8%, n = 5, P = .114) had previously served as chairs of a different department. Additionally, new chairs obtain PhD degrees more frequently (18%, n = 11 vs 10%, n = 6, P = .001), and are almost always fellowship trained (93%, n = 56), specializing in glaucoma (27%, n = 16), vitreoretinal surgery (22%, n = 13), and cornea (22%, n = 13). Notably, in 90% (n = 54) of programs, there was a change in the chair’s subspecialty at the time of leadership exchange. Recently hired chairs published by the time they became department heads a significantly higher mean number of peer-reviewed articles than retiring chairs (67 articles vs 48 articles, P = .001); however, their h-indexes were similar (26 vs 25, P = .723). The academic scholarly output of hired chairs matched that of their predecessors in the department, as evidenced by both the number of articles published (r = 0.381, P = .001) and h-index (r = 0.374, P = .001).

Conclusions

Ophthalmology department chairs remain predominantly fellowship trained males specializing in glaucoma, vitreoretinal surgery, and cornea. Although women’s promotions as department heads have increased substantially over the past decade, they remain underrepresented in the ophthalmology chair position. Academic profiles of newly hired chairs closely resemble those of their predecessors, giving a rough estimate of the qualifications required to become chair at a certain institution.