Dr. Cheryl Maurana to take new leadership role
March 8, 2011 College News - Cheryl A. Maurana, PhD, has been named Senior Associate Dean for Institutional and Community Engagement and Director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Program for The Medical College of Wisconsin. In this new role, Dr. Maurana will lead the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin program, provide leadership for the development of institutional initiatives, and advance priorities reflecting the community engagement mission of the College.
With the completion of the first AHW five-year Legislative Audit Bureau evaluation, it has become necessary for Dr. Maurana’s responsibilities with the AHW endowment to expand to implement recommended process and policy improvements, work with senior leadership to reevaluate strategic investments, focus on dissemination of the outcomes of our $105M in AHW investments, and begin strategic planning for the next AHW Five-Year Plan and audit.
The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin office, which had previously reported to the Dean, will now report directly to the President and CEO. Since 2004, AHW has invested more than $100M in over 250 projects improving health in Wisconsin through research, education and community-academic partnership initiatives.
“In establishing dedicated leadership and realigning the office for the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Program, the College ensures that we are providing continued financial stewardship of the endowment, maximizing the impact and reach of our AHW-funded projects and programs, and most effectively meeting the requirements of the Insurance Commissioner’s order and our many internal and external stakeholders,” said Dr. John R. Raymond, Sr., President and CEO. “Dr. Maurana brings a knowledgeable perspective of both political and programmatic aspects to the leadership position due to her involvement in the AHW since its inception.”
The position of Senior Associate Dean for Institutional and Community Engagement better reflects the College’s fourth mission of community engagement, as well as the position’s expanded role in building collaborations and guiding the strategic development of new institutional initiatives. Dr. Maurana will assume her new responsibilities effective July 1, 2011. She will remain the Co-PI on the MCW Clinical and Translational Science Award and continue to serve on the CTSI Executive Committee.
Dr. Maurana currently serves as Senior Associate Dean for Public and Community Health and Director for the Institute for Health and Society, focused on improving health and advancing health equity through community and academic partnerships. The position of Senior Associate Dean for Institutional and Community Engagement replaces the position of Senior Associate Dean for Public and Community Health.
In order to serve in her expanded role, Dr. Maurana will relinquish her role as Director of the Institute for Health and Society. An internal search for the new Director of the Institute for Health and Society will be conducted by the Dean’s Office, beginning in March.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Maurana, the Institute for Health and Society has made significant progress in establishing an academic home for several new and existing programs in education, research and community health,” said Dr. Joseph Kerschner, Interim Dean and Executive Vice President. “The Medical College is committed to the continued success of the Institute for Health and Society, and we look forward to the accomplishments of its faculty, staff, students and community partners as they work to improve health and advance health equity through community and academic partnerships.”
Dr. Maurana has received national recognition for her work in public health research and community-academic partnerships. Since joining the Medical College in 1995, she has built a number of collaborations both within the College and with communities for improving health in the Milwaukee area and the state of Wisconsin, including a number of federal and private foundation grants. Since 1999, Dr. Maurana has played a leadership role for Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin, a statewide initiative that funds community-academic partnerships, research and education. Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin was created by the $313 million dollar endowment resulting from the conversion of Blue Cross/Blue Shield United of Wisconsin to for-profit status.