For immediate release March 13, 2008
Contact: Emily Wofford Cobb, Communications Manager
Office 775-784-6006
Mobile 775-338-5119
ecobb@medicine.nevada.edu
President announces leadership changes, new dean of medicine
RENO, Nev.— In anticipation of an expanded Division of Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno President Milton Glick is announcing leadership changes. Effective July 1, John A. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., current dean of medicine and vice president of health sciences, will continue in the sole role of vice president of health sciences. Ole Thienhaus, M.D., MBA, current chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s only statewide clinical department, will replace McDonald as dean of the medical school.
“This revised scope of duties will allow Dr. McDonald to devote the time and attention needed to foster the success of the expanded Health Sciences Division,” Glick said. “With our growing and aging population, Nevada faces a continued need for more nurses, physicians and other healthcare professionals. The University serves a vital role in training these professionals and helping improve the health of the state. Dr. McDonald and Dr. Thienhaus are fully committed to this mission.”
As of July 1, McDonald will assume leadership of multiple units previously organized under the College of Health and Human Sciences, including nursing, public health, social work, and a number of health-related disciplines, as well as the School of Medicine. McDonald will report to the University provost and to the president.
“The reorganization of the University’s health-related programs is driven by the recognition that optimal healthcare is provided by multidisciplinary teams—nurses, public health professionals, social workers, pharmacists, therapists, physicians and others—who train and work together focusing on meeting the patient’s needs,” Glick said. “This integrative approach will best serve University students seeking healthcare careers by leveraging the talents and expertise found in these health-related disciplines.”
The Division of Health Sciences will leverage existing strengths and infrastructure to create new opportunities for learning and research and will emphasize the importance of healthcare to Nevada’s economy and statewide community.
McDonald joined the School of Medicine in 2004, leading it through a reorganization of the clinical practice plan, designing its first new biomedical research building in more than two decades, and championing funding for a new health sciences education building planned for the Reno health sciences campus to house medicine and nursing, as well as, enhanced facilities in Las Vegas. New department chairs were recruited to internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology in Las Vegas and pediatrics in Reno. Relations with University Medical Center, the medical school’s primary teaching affiliate in Las Vegas, were strengthened, and the medical class expanded by 20 percent.
Thienhaus moved to Nevada in 1995 when he accepted the position of Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Thienhaus lives in both Reno and Las Vegas, commuting every week, treating patients in both urban areas and rural Nevada, often providing psychiatric services to communities that otherwise would not have access to care. His interests include crisis intervention psychiatry and healthcare economics. He has published nearly 100 articles and book chapters, as well as three books. He is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and serves on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Prior to joining the School of Medicine, Thienhaus was a faculty member and vice chair of psychiatry at the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati where he also received his residency training in psychiatry and completed his fellowship in geriatric psychiatry. Additionally, he received his MBA from the University of Cincinnati College of Business. Thienhaus was born in Northern Germany and attended universities in Germany and Ireland, graduating in 1978 with a medical degree from the Free University of Berlin.
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been a leader in healthcare, medical education and research in Nevada since 1969. The School of Medicine includes 16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and five nationally recognized departments in basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. The more than 185 doctors of University Health System, the school’s clinical practice, offer care in more than 40 medical specialties and subspecialties with eight physician offices in the Reno/Sparks area and seven in Las Vegas. The school is committed to a best practices approach to medicine and is dedicated to exceptional healthcare for Nevada now and in the future. For more information visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.