Two key personnel changes in the College of Health Professions at Wichita State University will be in place officially before the start of the 2008-09 school year.

Richard Muma, chair of the Department of Physician Assistant, has been named chair of the College of Health Professions’ reconstituted Department of Public Health Sciences, effective July 1.

Sue Nyberg, associate professor and physician assistant, will step up as program director and acting chair of the physician assistant department, effective June 15.

The reconstituted public health sciences department will include the college’s current degree program in Health Services Management/Community Development, a graduate Certificate in Public Health, an administrator-in-training program for senior services, and a new degree being proposed in the health sciences.

Muma will also be working with his dean, Peter Cohen, to implement new quality assessment programs for the college as a whole. Although he will no longer be teaching in the PA program, he will continue to mentor PA student research projects.

Dr. Bryan Mann, a pediatrician and senior clinical instructor in the College of Health Professions, will increase his teaching time in the program.

In 1987 Muma got his start as a physician assistant with a major from the University of Texas-Galveston. He completed another major, in community health education, and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas-Houston by 1993. He arrived at WSU in 1994 and went from being an instructor who worked professionally in internal medicine at the Wichita Clinic to assistant and associate professor, then chair of the PA department. Meanwhile, during a brief stint in St. Louis, he earned his Ph.D. in 2004 in education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

After 20 years in PA education, Muma is excited about the new emphasis on public health and his role in it.

“For me, it’s a natural progression in terms of my teaching and my interests,” said Muma.

He and Nyberg have been working together already this spring to assure a smooth transition in leadership.

Nyberg has years of experience as a PA in clinical practice, in PA education and in health care administration. She earned her bachelor’s (physician assistant, 1981) and master’s (administration, 1988) degrees from WSU and has worked for the College of Health Professions as a clinical supervisor, instructor and assistant and associate professor since 1996. She also practices part-time as a PA with Wesley Medical Center’s Trauma/Critical Care Service.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead our department,” said Nyberg, “as we build upon our tradition of training PAs to provide quality, primary health care services.”

Cohen, dean of the College of Health Professions, said both changes are positive and exciting, especially being able to focus more attention toward public health.

“Undergraduate degrees and graduate coursework in this area are essential to all of our majors in the college,” said Cohen. “Dr. Muma has a strong background in public health; he will be extending the work he has been engaged in over the past several years. Dr. Muma’s shift to the Department of Public Health Sciences and Ms. Nyberg’s expertise in physician assistant education will allow the College of Health Professions to grow in both areas.”

“The college has always recognized the importance of public health, with its related offerings in various configurations over the years,” said Muma. “Re-establishing the Department of Public Health Sciences reinforces this importance.”

Muma said that recent research published in “Academic Medicine” appeals to health profession educators to improve outcomes in population health and prevention.

Ramping up a department with new coursework, degrees and certificates focused in the area of public health is a good way to do just that, said Muma.