Roswell Park Welcomes New Chief Academic Officer

BUFFALO, NY — Richard P. Hershberger, PhD, MBA, has joined Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell Park) as Chief Academic Officer, overseeing Roswell Park’s expansive portfolio of educational programs. Dr. Hershberger will serve as Dean of the Roswell Park Graduate Division of the University at Buffalo, which offers master’s and PhD degrees in a number of cancer research specialties. He will also oversee Roswell Park programs in continuing medical education, graduate medical training, summer internships for high school and college students, K-12 outreach activities and specialty training of visiting clinicians and researchers.

“Dr. Hershberger brings to Roswell Park not just passion for developing innovative, strategic education programs but also a wealth of experience in the ways that education, science and industry intersect,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO. “Educating tomorrow’s oncologists is a cornerstone of our mission, and our students — as well as the community Roswell Park serves — will benefit greatly from Dr. Hershberger’s practical, on-the-ground knowledge of these dynamics. ”

Mostrecently Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Hershberger has held a variety of positions in higher education and educational management. He was Chair of the Division of National Sciences and Mathematics at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA, and has served on the faculty at California University of Pennsylvania. He has taught courses in biology, genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology and elementary science teaching. He has also worked with companies in the life-sciences industry as Managing Director of the Biomedical Network of the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

“I love the fact that everybody at Roswell Park is unified under a single mission, focused on a single disease,” said Dr. Hershberger. “That makes this an educational institution that’s distinct. It really is a different environment from other academic institutions I’ve worked in. Everybody is targeting the same goal — in many, many different ways. ”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Hershberger went on to receive a PhD in molecular biology from Case Western Reserve University, and did post-doctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His laboratory research involved recombinant DNA, molecular and cell biology, immunology and protein chromatography methods for cloning collagen genes, studying RNA splicing, and expressing and purifying plant virus proteins. He also holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.