George Russell, MD

Chief Executive Officer, University Physicians

Dr. George Russell assumed his current role as University Physicians CEO in July 2021. He is responsible for oversight and management of the UP practice plan operations and finances. He works with department chairs and ambulatory administration to drive quality and efficiency in all of UMMC’s ambulatory sites. He oversees the development and implementation of a medical staffing plan, identifies and implements strategies for growth and collaboration both in the Jackson market as well as statewide, and identifies areas for standardization of operations and processes.

Named the James L. Hughes Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2014, Russell previously served for nine years as chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Russell received his MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he had a general surgery internship and residency training in orthopaedic surgery. He then completed an orthopaedic trauma fellowship at the University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Russell served as an assistant professor and chief of orthopaedic trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, before joining the Medical Center faculty in 2000 as an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation. He earned promotion to associate professor in 2002 and became medical director of the department in 2009.

He obtained his executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, in 2012. A diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners, Russell is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Orthopaedic Association and the National Medical Association, and he serves as an at-large member for the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. He also has served as president of the Mississippi Orthopaedic Society.

Listed among America’s Best Doctors on numerous occasions and a three-time UMMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Professor of the Year, Russell is the author or coauthor of more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed professional publications, six book chapters and more than 15 abstracts. Chair of the UMMC Council of Clinical Chairs, the UMMC Physician Compliance Subcommittee and the UP Physician/Staff Hiring Committee, he serves as president of the UP Board of Governors.