A Leader Who Wrote the Book on Management

Many people who rise to department management in medicine have little prior experience with administration. This wasn’t the case with Ronald Arenson, MD, former chairman of UCSF’s Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.

Dr. Arenson began his career in the business of technology, working as a systems engineer for IBM from 1963 to 1970. After his time at IBM, he didn’t turn to a traditional medical career. Instead, he joined the Navy in some of the darkest years of the Vietnam War and served at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, before taking his first academic appointment in 1976.

As the department chair, Dr. Arenson oversees the operations of six medical institutions: The main campus on Parnassus, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, SF Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Mount Zion, and two outpatient centers - the Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging at China Basin Landing and UCSF Imaging Center at Montgomery Street.

Dr. Arenson has authored a book entitled A Practical Guide to Leadership and Management in Academic Radiology with former colleague Cathy Garzio. The authors’ goal was to help other radiologists-cum-administrators navigate a safe and productive course in their positions, as he has done for many years at UCSF.

UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging has cultivated the knowledge, skills, and highly focused talents of an extraordinary team of clinicians, researchers, and teachers. Each doctor is a seasoned expert, thoughtful scientist, and caring professional – as well as a specialist in multiple fields of innovative medical practices.