FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

 

For more information, contact:

UTHSC Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin

(901) 448-4957

 

Mays Appointed First Vice Chancellor-Public Relations

for UT Health Science Center

 

Memphis, Tenn. (May 24, 2006) – In a move that underscores the importance of communication to the future of the UT Health Science Center (UTHSC), Chancellor William F. Owen, Jr., MD, announced today the appointment of Sandra Hall Mays as vice chancellor for public relations. For the first time in its history, the statewide academic health institution has elevated the communications leadership position to the vice chancellor level with a direct report to the chancellor.

Mays will be responsible for providing strategic communications leadership and planning for the main campus in Memphis, as well as major educational sites in Knoxville and Chattanooga. She will serve as the lead public relations counsel to the Health Science Center leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni organizations.

Dr. Owen commented, “The UT Health Science Center has a great story to tell; ground-breaking discoveries are made on our campuses on a regular basis; our faculty, staff and students give back to the community abundantly and in many ways. Ms. Mays will bring a much needed focus to getting that message out, as well as to helping revitalize a strong, open communication culture within our academic healthcare system.”

Prior to joining UTHSC, Mays was director of communications, marketing and public relations for the Memphis Housing Authority, and Housing and Community Development. Mays has a wealth of experience in broadcast media, which includes holding public relations and marketing positions with Group One Summit Broadcasting, Dayton, Ohio,  and marketing  consulting positions with Gillet Corp., Nashville, Tenn., Hearst Corp., Dayton, Ohio, and most recently, with Raycom Communications in Memphis.

The recipient of numerous sales and marketing awards, Mays is listed in Who’s Who Among Black Americans and was selected for the Price Waterhouse Up and Comers Award.  She is a past member of the Public Relations Society of America and chapter president of American Women in Radio and Television. 

            Her civic activities include being a past member of the Junior League of America (Dayton and Nashville chapters), and Jack and Jill of America Inc., as well as a board member of Girls Incorporated, the YWCA of Dayton and the Dayton Art Institute.  Mays has served as past president of The Links Inc., Memphis Chapter, and currently serves on the organization’s National Ethics and Standards Commission.  She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

A graduate of Howard University, Washington, D.C., Mays holds a master’s degree from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Mich. Her daughter, Clarissa, is a senior at Howard University. 

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-pronged 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 post-graduate training opportunities, the main campus, with its seven colleges, is in Memphis.  The UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville and the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga also serve as major educational sites. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

 

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