Recent News on PA Programs & Faculty
Promotions
Jessica Grusnick, PA-C, became the director of Carroll University’s PA program in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She has been with the program since 2014, having previously served as clinical coordinator.
Maureen Finney, EdD, PA-C, was named dean of the School of Health Professions at D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. She had previously served as chair of the PA department since 2001.
Tatsiana Singh, PA-C, is the interim program director at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. She joined the program as a clinical coordinator in 2014.
Gary Tooley, MHSc, PA-C, is the interim program director at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. He has been with the program since its inception in 2011. His initial role was as a consultant before serving as director of academics. Tooley is also a current doctoral student at Nova Southeastern University.
Vicki Chan-Padgett, PA-C, has retired from the program director position at Touro University Nevada in Henderson. Phil Tobin, DHSc, MPAS, PA-C, will fill the role beginning April 1st. He was previously the program director at Mercer University.
Beginning in July, Joseph Weber, DHSc, MBA, MPAS, PA-C, will serve as founding director of the PA program at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. The program is expected to launch in Summer 2018. Weber was previously the founding program director for Lake Erie College.
Dawn LaBarbera, PhD, PA-C, has been named director of the new PA program at Trine University in Angola, Indiana, which is scheduled to begin in Spring 2017. She previously served as chair at the University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, for nine years. Emilio de Jesus Vazquez, MD, CMD, has been named medical director for the Trine program.
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Student Achievements
Allyson Sweet, a second-year student in the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine PA program in Harrogate, Tennessee, received a Heartsaver Hero Award from the American Heart Association for saving the life of her mother. Read more.
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Local News Coverage
Westfield State University in Westfield, Massachusetts, plans to open the first public PA program in New England. Read the article.
A team of students from the University of Bridgeport PA program won the Connecticut Physician Assistant Medical Challenge Bowl. Read the article.
Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction is in the early stages of developing a PA program. Read the article.
We periodically highlight the promotions and achievements of PAEA members. Have a Move or Milestone you’d like to share? Email Marsea Nelson at mnelson@PAEAonline.org.
