After Dr. Moseley's resignation in 1971, the chairmanship of the radiology department at the University of Chicago was held successively by Drs. Alexander Gottschalk, John Fennessy, and Philip Alderson, now chairman at Columbia University. Drs. J.R. Williams, Paul Hoffer, and James Lehr led the department also as acting chairmen during various periods of transition. Dr. Martin Lipton was appointed as chairman in 1988 and recently accepted reappointment after the university's customary 6-year review. Each of these individuals left his stamp on the department.

Gottschalk, Alderson, and Hoffer achieved international recognition for their contributions to nuclear medicine. Before accepting the chair in 1971, Gottschalk had served as director of the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital (later integrated into the department of radiology and renamed The Franklin McLean Memorial Research Institute), collaborating with Harper, Lathrop, and Beck in the development of modern nuclear medicine. Drs. Moseley and Gottschalk both served as president of the Association of University Radiologists and received its Gold Medal. Fennessy first described a technique for transbronchial biopsy of lung lesions using arterial catheters in 1966, before fiberscopes had been developed, and he was a pioneer in using bronchial fiberscopes in the United States. With Torgny Holm of the University of Lund, Fennessy also designed the department's current clinical facility in 1982, which still functions well in greatly altered circumstances. The late James Lehr, who died tragically young, had been recruited by Fennessy from the University of Missouri for his nationally regarded expertise in radiology information systems. Lehr and Dr. Gwylm Lodwick had developed a sophisticated computer system (MARS) at the University of Missouri for use in radiology departments. At Chicago, Lehr greatly expanded this system, which has proved to be very user-friendly and highly adaptable to both clinical and research needs. Dr. Lipton, a cardiovascular radiologist, has reequipped the department, recruited key faculty, expanded the residency program, developed fellowships in neuroradiology, interventional radiology, and body imaging, and an active international fellowship program. He also hosted a very successful annual Association of University Radiologists meeting in Chicago in 1992.