Rosalind Franklin University is getting a new CEO and president from across the pond — Lake Michigan that is — with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Dean Dr. Aron Sousa scheduled to start his tenure at the North Chicago school later this year.
Sousa has decades of experience holding various positions focusing on education, expanding the school’s footprint across the state and creating new public health and health education programs across eight campuses, he said.
“By nature, I am a teacher,” Sousa said.
According to an RFU news release, Sousa earned his medical degree from Indiana University’s School of Medicine, before completing his residency, chief residency and fellowship in primary care internal medicine at MSU.
He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and has been recognized for his leadership in academic medicine and community engagement, the release said. He succeeds retiring president and CEO Dr. Wendy Rheault, who was the first woman to serve in the office.
According to reports from MSU’s school paper, The State News, Sousa’s resignation was announced last week by MSU Provost Laura McIntyre.
Sousa’s efforts include work with the community of Flint, Michigan, which made national headlines for its lead water crisis several years ago.
According to the release, he led a $40 million expansion of the school in Flint, helping establish the College of Human Medicine building and the eventual creation of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health. Sousa described it as a research “engine” based in Flint that has a focus on community initiatives such as the community’s water crisis, child poverty and maternal mortality.
“The health professions are helping professions,” Sousa said of his driving philosophy. “We’re there to be useful, and make people’s lives better.”
Although the Chicago area is also infamous for its use of lead pipes, Sousa said that his focus at RFU will be driven by discussions with faculty and the community.
“A key part of the work I’ve done in communities in my career is to listen to what the community is interested in, and try to sort out the goals that we can all work on together,” he said.
Sousa has lived much of his life around the Lake Michigan region. Born in Wisconsin, he grew up in Indiana before moving to Michigan, and will now be living in Illinois.
Since 2024, he has also been serving as executive dean for MSU Health Colleges, which according to his MSU bio aims to find collaboration opportunities between the colleges of human medicine, osteopathic medicine and nursing.
As for why RFU selected him, Sousa highlighted his experience as an educator, history of developing scientific and research programs, and his focus on interprofessionalism, a philosophy around drawing and learning from multiple health professions fields that Rosalind has embraced.
Looking at the news, it seems like a difficult time for higher education and the health field. But Sousa said education’s “core piece” is providing opportunities for people to enter the health profession and fill necessary roles. Additionally, their work will help create “new cures and new ways to be healthy,” about which there’s never really any argument about, he said.
Government leaders “want to invest in science and that kind of good work,” Sousa said.
“I think we have to be there to talk to everybody about why this kind of work is good for people, how it’s expanded lifespan and provided economic opportunity, especially in the Lake County area,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a difficult argument to make.”
Sousa said he will start late this fall or winter. There is plenty of work ahead, he said.
“There are a lot of people to meet, a lot of systems to understand,” Sousa said.