In early March, UNC Professor of Anesthesiology Dr. Anthony “Tony” Passannante was presented with UNC Anesthesiology’s inaugural Distinguished Executive Award at the department’s monthly faculty meeting. Arguably, Dr. Passannante’s earliest stamp on leadership at UNC — serving as Chief Resident (1990-1991) — now spans three+ decades of serving in top executive leadership positions across the department, institution and healthcare system.
Within UNC Anesthesiology, Dr. Passannante has served as Residency Program Director, Vice Chair for Education, Vice Chair for Operations, Executive Vice Chair, Acting Chair, and Interim Chair. As a leader of operations within the healthcare system, he has served as UNC Hospitals’ Associate Medical Director of Operating Rooms, among other roles. In July 2024, Dr. Passannante was appointed the UNC School of Medicine’s Senior Associate Dean for Medical Student Education. Leading the UNC School of Medicine through its upcoming accreditation process with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) will rely heavily on his expertise and understanding of the standards of achieving curricular excellence in academic medicine.