A nationally recognized leader in public health, Magda Peck, Sc.D., has been named associate dean for Community Engagement and Public Health Practice in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health. Dr. Peck assumed her new role Oct. 1
The newly created position demonstrates a strong commitment to improve the health of communities in Nebraska and beyond and provide lifelong education and leadership development opportunities for practicing professionals in public health systems.
“A primary focus of this college is to contribute to the health and well-being of communities and populations. Dr. Peck said. “In urban neighborhoods and rural towns, around the state and around the world, we will make a greater difference in the public’s health through effective partnerships in research, education and service.”
Her appointment to this new position is the first major announcement by the new dean of UNMC’s College of Public Health.
“Dr. Peck is well-respected in the national public health community for her innovative thinking and program development. In her new capacity, she will establish and support a network of departments of health, practitioners, as well as representatives of community advocacy groups to address public health issues and offer solutions,” said Ayman, El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of UNMC’s College of Public Health.
“This appointment is a substantive indicator of the relationship our new dean and our college want to have with our partners,” Dr. Peck said. “It is a serious investment in engaging communities and supporting practicing professionals as essential ways to increase our impact on the public’s health,” Dr. Peck said.
She will continue to direct the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute, which has become a premier program in the College of Public Health. A recognized expert in maternal and child health, she also will continue her leadership work in the field in close partnership with the UNMC pediatrics department.
Dr. Peck, who joined UNMC in 1989, earned a master’s and doctoral degree at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is founding CEO of CityMatCH, an organization that strives to improve the health and well-being of urban women, children and families by strengthening the public health organizations and leaders in their communities. She also is founding director of the UNMC and University of Nebraska-Omaha master’s degree in public health program.
She served as a professor and associate chairwoman in the department of pediatrics and is chair-elect of the National Public Health Leadership Development Network and director of health policy and planning at UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $100 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 3,200 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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