Chairs of United States Academic Ophthalmology Departments: A Descriptive Analysis and Trends

To characterize and analyze the profile of United States (US) academic ophthalmology department chairs.

Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Web search of publicly accessible sources.

One hundred and eleven US ophthalmology chairs.

Demographic and academic data.

Of the 111 chairs reviewed, 90% are male. Mean age of chairs is 59 years, and mean age at time of appointment is 47 years. Ninety-two percent of chairs graduated from an American medical school. Twenty-eight percent of chairs also have additional graduate degrees: 8% a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, 15% a master's degree, and 5% both. Ninety-five percent of chairs completed a clinical fellowship, most frequently in cornea (25%), vitreoretinal surgery (23%), and glaucoma (21%). The 3 programs that trained the largest number of chairs are Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Wilmer Eye Institute, and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Thirty-two percent of chairs were previously trained in the program they currently head, more commonly as a resident (28%) than as a fellow (5%). The estimated mean number of publications per chair is 108 (range, 0-850) and the mean h-index is 24. Twenty-seven programs exchanged chairs from 2014 to 2017. The characteristics of appointed chairs are no different than those of recently retired chairs.

Ophthalmology chairs remain predominately male, most often specializing in cornea, vitreoretinal surgery, or glaucoma. Most chairs tend to be prolific authors whose careers have placed an emphasis on research; however, a lack of demonstrated research experience does not preclude chairmanship in certain US programs.