Chapter 04: Fostering Achievement as the Chief Academic Officer

Authors

• Carin Hagberg M.D., FASA, FACHE, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Jose Javier Garza, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Files

Description

Dr. Hagberg outlines her vision as MD Anderson’s Chief Academic Officer, describing the role as a “catalyst” that fosters an environment where academic achievement can thrive. Her vision centers on providing oversight, securing resources, and creating alignment among education and training, academic operations, and faculty affairs. Academic Affairs relies on clear strategies that emphasize transparency and communication through intentional listening, regular updates, faculty town halls, and a fair and equitable promotion process.

She explains how uncertainty can delay hiring, impede research, and create stress about career stability, and that leadership must provide structure and clarity during these times. She identifies four strategies: transparency in communications to reduce speculation and build trust; focus on stability through bridge funding, financial planning, and alignment with clinical priorities; investment in adaptability through leadership development, grant assistance, and strong academic operations; and fostering a sense of community through shared dialogue and peer support.

She concludes by offering a measured approach to artificial intelligence. Using AI tools for ambient listening can reduce documentation burdens and increase face time with patients. Successful integration requires open dialogue and clear communication, grounded in ethical principles. While AI provides innovative opportunities, its implementation requires transparency, education, and appropriate oversight.

Identifier

HagbergC_20260224_C04

Publication Date

2-24-2026

Interview Session

Carin Hagberg MD, FASA Oral History Interview, February 24, 2026

Topic Covered

The Educator; The Administrator; MD Anderson Culture; Growth and/or Change; Education; On Education; Leadership; On Leadership; Mentoring; On Mentoring

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Disciplines

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History

Transcript

Jose Javier Garza

So, I kind of wanted to segue a little bit because you mentioned it before, but kind of your role as chief academic officer. So, what vision did you set yourself when you became MD Anderson’s chief academic officer?

Carin A. Hagberg, M.D., FASA, FACHE

Sure, good question. When I stepped into the role of chief academic officer, my vision was really centered on integration and advancement. I wasn’t—I didn’t think when I started my career, I was gonna become a chief academic officer. But I’m so glad that I did. Javier, I really am. I don’t know, it just seemed like it was meant to be. MD Anderson has extraordinary faculty trainees and students, but excellence doesn’t happen by accident. And my goal has been to align and strengthen the academic life of the institution. So, the education, scholarship, and professional growth, they’re not siloed efforts but part of a coordinated strategy. And I love this because I’m all about airway management strategy. It’s not just a plan. It’s a series of plans. It’s a—it’s a strategy, but, at its core, the role of the CAO is to ensure that our academic mission is as strong and intentional as our clinical and research missions. And that means providing oversight, securing the right resources, and creating meaningful alignment across education and training, academic operations and faculty affairs.

Those are the three areas that I oversee, but I see the office as the chief academic officer as a catalyst, fostering an environment where academic achievement thrives. You know, an environment where our faculty not just survive, they thrive. And that includes supporting impactful scholarship, promoting leadership development, reinforcing professionalism. I mentioned—I mentioned our Center for Professionalism, Support and Success, but also prioritizing well-being and ensuring that faculty and trainees have the structure and support to build long, successful careers. And I think, importantly, this vision is rooted in the culture of respect, opportunity, and a shared purpose. Academic excellence is not just about productivity. It’s about people. It’s about creating a learning environment where individuals from all backgrounds really can grow and contribute and lead. Ultimately, my vision is to elevate the academic experience at MD Anderson so that it reflects the same level of excellence and intentionality that defines our patient care and research, and to ensure that our impact extends not only locally, but globally.

Jose Javier Garza

So, what are the strategy—what are the strategies and tools that you believe are most effective for supporting faculty satisfaction, growth, and retention at MD Anderson?

Carin A. Hagberg, M.D., FASA, FACHE

This is a great question. I love this question. And it is often a question that is asked. And it should be. I believe that the most effective strategies for supporting faculty satisfaction, their growth, and retention begins with intentional listening. Our faculty, like you, like even me, we want to feel heard, valued, and supported. And that requires more than an annual survey. It means regular communication through townhalls and forums. We recently started the CAO-sponsored forums, faculty forums that follow our townhalls now but also meaningful one-on-one conversations. And I’ll be starting up next month, hosting meetings, the kind of open door where I’ll be sponsoring luncheons with myself, with faculty. But as a mentor and a coach, I’ve learned that those individual discussions often reveal—you know—the nuances behind what the data alone can’t show. And that said, listening, though, must be paired with measurement, right? We love data. And we need to monitor how we’re doing. And we need to look very carefully at retention trends, promotion timelines, workload distribution, and even engagement data. As you can see from our surveys, that’s always something we look very closely at.

But when you combine lived experience with objective metrics, you get a clearer, more actual picture of what’s working and what’s not working, what needs attention. And I think from there, strategy becomes very concrete. We want transparent and fair promotion processes. We want strong mentorship and sponsorship structures, meaningful opportunities for scholarship. And we want leadership, wellness, and professional development programs really tailored to different career stages. We have those there. We have our faculty career groups that we’ve developed—that are very strong here, but, really, ultimately, faculty satisfaction improves when listening is embedded in the culture, and data informs our decision-making. My focus is on creating that environment where faculty voices shape priorities and where we hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that talented individuals can grow, contribute, and build long, fulfilling careers here at MD Anderson.

Jose Javier Garza

Well, thank you. And that really does touch back to what you mentioned with communication being a really important part of MD Anderson’s growth, especially with faculty, like satisfaction retention with all the townhalls and the surveys. And it just goes beyond—you’re right—the annual survey. It actually—you know—and how effective listening is also part of that communication piece. So, one thing about MD Anderson, it’s constantly changing, as we’ve discussed earlier, but—so, how have certain uncertainties, such as funding gaps or regulatory shifts affected faculty development? And what is MD Anderson doing to address these changes?

Carin A. Hagberg, M.D., FASA, FACHE

Gosh, you ask some really good questions, Javier. (laughter) I think you’ve done this before, but uncertainty, whether it’s related to funding, regulatory requirements, or the broader healthcare environment, it creates stress for faculty. It can slow hiring, delay research momentum, and raise understandable concerns about career stability, but—excuse me—our responsibility as leaders is to reduce ambiguity where possible and provide structure during times of change. I think that’s key. And so, I would say, first of all, transparency matters. You know, when there are funding gaps or policy shifts, we need to communicate clearly about what we know and what we don’t know yet, and what actions are underway because I think the better communication that we can have, and the better clarity that we can provide, reduces that speculation, because you know how we can get. We think the worst, but that can also build trust. And we saw a lot of that during COVID.

And second, I think we need to focus on stability mechanisms. And that can include bridge funding strategies when feasible, proactive financial planning, and aligning resources with mission-critical priorities. We can’t do everything. We have to make decisions. So, we work very closely with department chairs and division heads to identify faculty who may be vulnerable. And we want to intervene early, rather than react late. And I think the third thing is we need to invest in adaptability. Regulatory shifts and evolving funding landscapes, they do require faculty to be nimble. We’re having to change where we’re spending our time and energy and resources, but through leadership development, grant support infrastructure, and academic operations, I think we can help faculty strengthen that competitiveness and diversify funding strategies. But finally, Javier, I want to emphasize one more thing—is community. So, I think periods of uncertainty can feel isolating. And creating forums for shared dialogue and peer support helps reinforce that faculty are not navigating these challenges alone. So, I guess in short, while we cannot eliminate external uncertainty, we can provide internal steadiness through transparency, disciplined planning, and consistent support. And I would say that stability is essential for sustaining faculty development during complex times.

Jose Javier Garza

Thank you. So, just looking at kind of literature, it feels one of the bigger change agents coming is artificial intelligence. So, how has artificial intelligence impacted clinical practices and medical education?

Carin A. Hagberg, M.D., FASA, FACHE

Well, that is definitely a hot topic, isn’t it? For sure. But artificial intelligence is already influencing both clinical practice and medical education. And our approach has been intentional and measured. In clinical care, we have been using AI-enabled tools such as ambient listening, which is really helping reduce documentation burden and improve efficiency in the clinics. But when implemented thoughtfully, these tools do allow clinicians to spend more time focused on patients rather than screens. We’re getting back to that “with the patient” instead of having our back to them. And that’s how—at least when I started out, that’s how we trained, but, at the same time, we recognize that integration requires dialogue and clarity. And that’s why we hosted the chief academic officer townhall in partnership with the Institute for Data Science and Oncology to create an open forum for faculty to learn, ask questions, and openly discuss practical implications. And from an education standpoint, I would say we’re prioritizing AI literacy. It’s not enough to provide access to the tools; we must ensure faculty and learners understand their capabilities, as well as their limitations and ethical considerations.

So, through our education and training programs, we offer structured sessions on AI applications, as well as data privacy, legal, and responsible use principles. But learners of our School of Health Professions and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are already incorporating AI into their workflows within clear guardrails. But overall, AI really presents tremendous opportunity to enhance efficiency, augment decision-making, and enrich education. But innovation, of course, has to be paired with that transparency, education, and thoughtful oversight. It’s key. We do have a governance committee in place for this, but our goal is to ensure that faculty feel prepared and confident, and as well as our trainees and students, and that AI strengthens rather than replaces clinical judgment and academic rigor, for sure.

Jose Javier Garza

Well, thank you. Yeah, it is interesting that one of the benefits of incorporating AI, at least in patient care settings, is to actually focus on the patient as opposed to being on a computer or on a laptop instead of prioritizing the person sitting in front of you. And it’s great to know that the institution has both incorporated that, respects both the patient privacy, but also the ethics, but also responsibility of learning to innovate within certain bounds.

Carin A. Hagberg, M.D., FASA, FACHE

Right, right. With those guardrails in place, right? Right, they’re so important.

Recommended Citation

Hagberg, Carin M.D., FASA, FACHE and Garza, Jose Javier, "Chapter 04: Fostering Achievement as the Chief Academic Officer" (2026). Interview Chapters. 1616.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1616

Conditions Governing Access

Open