The former president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic is about to call Arizona home. 

Dr. Denis Cortese, who retired from his post in November, will join the Arizona State University faculty in February and lead a new program that will focus on "promoting a sustainable U.S. health-care-delivery system."

Cortese will also be a foundation professor in both the department of biomedical informatics and the School of Health Management and Policy at the W.P Carey School of Business.

"I have been interested in this area for the past 20 years," he said in a news release. "How do we design a . . . system that keeps people healthy instead of just takes care of them when they are sick?"

The Arizona Republic, by Ginger Rough, 12-9-09

Tags: Mayo Clinic Arizona