Brett Giroir, the prominent and sometimes controversial leader of a biomedical technology initiative at Texas A&M, is leaving the university, officials confirmed Monday.
Giroir has served as the chief executive officer at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. Before that, he was vice chancellor for strategic initiatives at the school. He leaves as new A&M president Michael K. Young has been given leeway to build his own team. Prior to Young's arrival, A&M System Chancellor John Sharp requested that all vice president-level officials at the school submit their resignation to Young.
Dr. Paul Ogden will take over Giroir's job in the interim, Young announced in a memo. Ogden is currently interim dean of the school's college of medicine and interim vice president for clinical affairs at the school.
"I appreciate the service of Dr. Brett Giroir, who has resigned from his position as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for the Texas A&M Health Science Center," Young said in a memo. "Dr. Giroir is an internationally renowned physician-scientist whose work has focused on life threatening infectious diseases."
Giroir is credited with kickstarting the school's biotechnology initiative on campus and attracting a major federal biodefense project on campus. His work was known to be strongly supported by former Gov. Rick Perry, who named Giroir to lead a state task force on Ebola last year.
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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/01/biotech-leader-brett-giroir-leaving-texas-m/.