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Two UTHSC Executive Appointments Focus on Academic Excellence

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Memphis, Tenn., (July 14, 2006)—William F. Owen, Jr., MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) announced today the appointment of two senior executives to his leadership team.  Effective September 1, Cheryl R. Scheid, PhD, will assume the position of vice chancellor for academic, faculty and student affairs.  Dianna A. Johnson, PhD, will report to her as the new associate vice chancellor for faculty and student retention.

As vice chancellor, Dr. Scheid will be responsible for identifying and implementing academic process improvements, and the establishment and enforcement of  academic policies that affect UTHSC’s students and faculty.  Dr. Scheid will work closely with the UTHSC’s college deans, offices of Research, Equity and Diversity, and Human Resources, as well as the UT system Provost, Dr. Bob Levy.  As associate vice chancellor, Dr. Johnson will be responsible for facilitating  UTHSC’s processes for recruiting faculty, as well as developing and executing faculty development and retention programs.

“Together, Dr. Scheid and Dr. Johnson will be a dynamic team,” observed Chancellor Owen.  “They will play a pivotal role in helping the UT Health Science Center excel in all four tiers of our mission — education, research, patient care and community service.  Organizational success is highly dependent on the quality of our talent and their work environment. We have made a major commitment to be at the forefront of faculty mentoring and development, which will help us achieve our goals,” he said.  “We truly aspire to UT Health Science Center being a top place to work and grow professionally.”

Prior to joining UTHSC, Dr. Scheid was interim provost and vice chancellor for faculty administration, as well as professor of physiology and surgery for the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Mass.  While simultaneously holding these positions, she led several major initiatives including, a successful accreditation visit for the medical school, a task force to review faculty salaries and address gender-based disparities, and an interdepartmental research program on kidney stone disease.  During this same time period, Dr. Scheid held a temporary position as vice president for academic affairs at UMass Memorial Health Care, the clinical partner of the medical school. 

Dr. Scheid began her academic career as assistant professor of physiology at Tufts University School of Medicine after receiving her doctorate in biology from Boston University.  She is internationally recognized in the field of urology and has published extensively in the area.

Dr. Johnson has been the assistant dean for faculty affairs at UTHSC since 2002.  She held the Roger L. Hiatt Endowed Professorship and served as director of research in the UTHSC Department of Ophthalmology since 1997.   She was director of the UTHSC Center for Vision Research from 1997 to 2002.  Before coming to Memphis, Dr. Johnson was the Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Professor and director of basic research in the Department of Ophthalmology, as well as assistant dean for Research Training at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston Medical School.  Dr. Johnson has made significant research contributions in the area of retinal development through her publications, collaborations, and success in garnering extramural funding for construction of laboratory facilities and for shared research equipment. 

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-tier mission of education, research, patient care and community service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans. Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus, which includes six colleges, is located in Memphis.  UTHSC has additional College of Medicine campus locations in Knoxville and Chattanooga.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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