Why is a general surgeon the chairman of an academic ophthalmology department

[Gonio5]

Seems weird. The former chair is still there. There are a number of faculty. It's not like it's a 5 faculty member department. Instead, the interim chair is also the chairman of the Department of Surgery. Ophthalmology is a separate department, not a surgery division, and has been that way either forever or the last 40 years.

The official explanation is " At the present time, I am the interim chair of Ophthalmology while we re-structure the department. After completion of the re-structuring, McGovern Medical School plans to have a national search for a new chair. "

What does this mean? What is re-structuring? Taking away their money and giving it to the medical school in general?

Disclaimer: I have never trained in that department or went to medical school there. No beef with them.

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[airplanes]

When there is no replacement identified, It is common for interim chairs to be from a different department as they search for and transition to a new chair.

This is to prevent situations that could arise if an existing department member served as interim chair and started to pursue self serving interests.