Corcoran named assistant dean for finance ​

Corcoran

Mary Corcoran has been named assistant dean for finance at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her appointment, which marks her return to the university after six years at Stanford University, is effective Aug. 21.

She replaces George E. Andersson, who is retiring after 24 years of service to the School of Medicine.

The assistant dean for finance is an integral member of the dean’s senior management team, serving as the primary source of expertise for the school’s resource planning processes.

In her new position, Corcoran is entrusted with providing the dean planning, fiscal and business support; managing the budget office; and advising senior administrative and business staff and other departmental administrators in developing the school’s budget. The school has an annual operating budget of more than $1.7 billion.

“I am excited that Mary Corcoran has decided to return to the university,” said Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “She is an innovative and experienced leader who excels at fostering collaboration and working with all levels of academia and health care. Her first-hand knowledge of the school and the intricacies of such a research-intensive institution will be invaluable to us.”

Since 2008, Corcoran has served as associate chair and director of finance and administration in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Before moving to California, Corcoran worked in the St. Louis area for nearly 30 years, including 19 at Washington University. She served as the director of finance of the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine from 2005-08 and a controller and assistant controller at the university from 1989-2005.

Before joining Washington University, she was the director of financial planning at what was then Jewish Hospital, and the director of accounting and budgeting at Missouri Baptist Hospital. She began her career as a senior auditor at KPMG in St. Louis.

“I am thrilled to be coming home to Washington University and to rejoin such an exceptional team of leaders,” Corcoran said. “Washington University is an outstanding academic medical center, and I am honored to be a member of the School of Medicine.”

Corcoran graduated magna cum laude from Southeast Missouri State University in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She passed the Certified Public Accountant examination in 1978.


Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.