The Ohio State University Medical Center has a new director of the division of cardiology.Dr. Pascal Goldschmidt, an internationally known and respected cardiologist, will replace Dr. Carl Leier, who served as director of the division for more than 11 years. Goldschmidt has been at OSU for nearly a year.”I took on the responsibility a little earlier than I thought I would,” Goldschmidt said. “I did not expect for Carl to step down until 1999 or 2000, and hoped he would stay a little longer.”Leier is currently serving as director of the heart failure program in the division of cardiology at OSU.Goldschmidt received his medical degree in 1980 from University Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium. After a residency and internship in Brussels, he has served on the staff of both the Medical University of South Carolina, and Johns Hopkins University, which is ranked among the top 10 medical centers in the country.OSU recruited Goldschmidt after an international search for cardiologists. He was one of 135 people considered for the position.Goldschmidt will retain the position he was originally recruited for as head of the heart and lung institute at OSU.He said it was a logical move to take over the position.Dr. Ernest Mazzaferri, chairman of the department of internal medicine at OSU, appointed Goldschmidt to the position.”He is recognized as one of the world’s authorities in cardiology,” Mazzaferri said. “He will smoothly tie together patient care, teaching, and research within the cardiology division.””Goldschmidt is a gentleman with an extraordinary degree of charm, empathy, and compassion as well as great intellect. It’s a rare set of qualities he has,” Mazzaferri said.Goldschmidt says his duties include making sure that division operations are successful and to continue to uphold OSU’s tradition of high quality care for its patients.”It is known from Harvard to Stanford that our division is outstanding in patient care,” Goldschmidt said.Goldschmidt describes OSU as a “very attractive place” to develop the next stage of his career. “Ohio State has taken steps to become a premiere cardiovascular center in the world, and it’s happening,” Goldschmidt said. “There is no reason Columbus can’t have as good of a school as anywhere else.”Goldschmidt’s goal is to have OSU’s cardiology unit ranked in the top 10 in the nation within the next 10 years.