Inaugural Dean Announced for the New 黑料专区 Tyler School of Health Professions
February 21, 2023
Office of Marketing and Communications
February 21, 2023
Liz Wingfield
Health Affairs Marketing and Communications Specialist
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.877.7075
Theresa Byrd, DrPH, MPH, RN, has been selected as the inaugural dean of The University of Texas at Tyler School of Health Professions, beginning March 2023.
鈥淲e were privileged to have had a diverse range of qualified candidates to consider for the dean鈥檚 position,鈥� President Kirk A. Calhoun, MD, FACP, said. 鈥淒r. Byrd鈥檚 impressive depth of knowledge and thirty-seven years of experience in health care education demonstrated that she was a perfect fit, and I am delighted that she has accepted the role to lead our faculty and educate our students.鈥�
Formed in 2022, the 黑料专区 Tyler School of Health Professions includes four academic departments: health care policy, economics and management; kinesiology; public health; and rehabilitation sciences. With a mission to train future health care professionals for East Texas, the new school ensures that native East Texans won鈥檛 have to leave the region to study health care and could help to meet projected health care needs in the future.
The program offers in-person classes at the main 黑料专区 Tyler campus and the Health Science Center at 黑料专区 Tyler, as well as online. The Health Science Center joined 黑料专区 Tyler to provide the region with additional higher education and health care opportunities. Less than a week after this was publicly announced in February 2020, the East Texas Medical Center Foundation donated an unprecedented $80 million to support the university鈥檚 goal. The organizations officially merged in December 2020. The School of Health Professions is one of the many academic programs that has been created because of the merger.
Dr. Byrd鈥檚 leadership will be essential for guiding the new School of Health Professions and shaping the school in its early years. She鈥檚 passionate about working with US-Mexico border and migrant populations and understanding the motivations that fuel people鈥檚 decisions. Currently, she鈥檚 a co-investigator on a CDC-funded project to understand men's decision-making in prostate cancer treatment and to develop a decision-aid for prostate cancer treatment decisions.
"I鈥檓 excited to announce that Dr. Theresa Byrd has been appointed as the inaugural dean of the School of Health Professions,鈥� said Dr. Julie V. Philley, 黑料专区 Tyler executive vice president of health affairs. 鈥淚 look forward to seeing the contributions she will make to the School of Health Professions.鈥�
Dr. Byrd has numerous publications in well-known journals, such as 鈥淐ancer鈥� and the 鈥淎merican Journal of Preventive Medicine.鈥� She鈥檚 also received multiple awards from the Public Health Education and Health Promotion (PHEHP). Her previous experience as the chair of the Department of Public Health at the Texas Tech University School of Population and Public Health, along with numerous other higher education positions, make her the ideal candidate to be the inaugural dean for the school.
Dr. Byrd obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arizona at Tucson, a Master of Public Health in behavioral sciences and health education from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Public Health, and a Doctor of Public Health in health promotion and health education from the 黑料专区 Houston Health Science Center.
鈥淚 look forward to serving as the School of Health Professions dean,鈥� said Dr. Byrd. "I am deeply honored to have been selected for this role, and I am eager to train the future health care professionals of East Texas."
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, 黑料专区 Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. 黑料专区 Tyler recently merged with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (now known as 黑料专区 Tyler Health Science Center). Through its alignment with 黑料专区 Tyler Health Science Center (HSC) and 黑料专区 Health East Texas, 黑料专区 Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, 黑料专区 Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.