KU’s announcement yesterday that longtime Medical Center faculty member Douglas Girod would become the new executive vice chancellor there capped off a process that began about a year ago (though at that time, the search committee thought it was looking for a new medical-school dean, rather than a leader for the whole campus).

We weren’t able to talk with Girod yesterday. (That’s the thing about surgeons: They tend to be unavailable for hours at a time.) But you can learn a bit more about him at the KUMC website, if you’re interested.

The Med Center Public Affairs office has posted a Q-and-A with Girod, in which he talks a bit about what he sees in store for KUMC. Among many other things, he mentions the push for state funding for a new education building, beefing up the School of Medicine’s Wichita campus and working to provide more doctors for the state of Kansas, including the possibility of more programs like the new Salina campus to produce physicians for rural areas.

Also available is an hour-long YouTube clip of Girod’s town-hall meeting with folks on the KUMC campus after he was announced as a finalist for the job last month.

You can expect a story here introducing Girod, where he’s coming from and what he sees ahead for KUMC sometime before he steps into the new job Feb. 1.