Task Force Charter

The Health Education Accreditation Task Force for the merger of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio will be responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with all program-level accreditations at UT Health San Antonio through the integration. The Health Education Accreditation Task Force will oversee discovery efforts, recommendation development activities, the drafting of content for required notifications and submissions to relevant program-level accreditors. Additional members will be assigned to the task force (e.g., Deans, relevant accreditation liaison) reflecting each program-level accreditation and/or School that requires action in connection with the merger.

Two task forces will lead the accreditation processes, overseeing essential planning and application submissions. The full integration process will take three to five years.

Task Force Updates

Members are continuing data gathering to achieve what is needed by accreditation bodies and mapping out program-specific needs for spring and summer 2025 deadlines.

Members have confirmed notification timelines and continue to coordinate with program directors and accrediting agencies on next steps in the process.

Members are reviewing and beginning to coordinate UT Health San Antonio’s multiple program-level accreditation requirements to ensure compliance through the merger.

Task Force Members

Task Force Co-Chairs

Heather Shipley, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
David C. Shelledy, PhD
Dean, School of Health Professions

Members

Francisco Cigarroa, MD
Senior Executive Vice President for Health Affairs & Health System
Sonya Renae Hardin, PhD
Dean, School of Nursing
Peter M. Loomer, DDS, PhD
Dean, School of Dentistry
Jacqueline Mok, PhD
Vice President for Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs
Kasey Neece-Fielder, EdD
Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Assessment
Vasan Ramachandran, MD
Dean, School of Public Health
David S. Weiss, PhD
Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Working Group Leads

UT Health San Antonio Schools

Medicine
Deborah Conway, MD
Vice Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education
Blane Trautwein, EdD
Program Director, Deaf Education and Hearing Science Program
Nursing
Sara Gill, PhD
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
Cynthia O’Neal, PhD
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Dentistry
Adriana Segura, DDS
Associate Dean for Academics, Faculty and Student Affairs
Health Professions
Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc
Chair, Department of Physician Assistant Studies
Vanessa Flores
Program Director, Imaging Sciences
David L. Henzi, EdD
Senior Associate Dean
Jennifer Hubbard
Histology Laboratory Supervisor
George Kudolo, PhD
Chair, Department of Health Sciences
Fang-Ling Lu, PhD
Chair, Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders
Terri Murphy-Sanchez
Program Director, Medical Laboratory Sciences
Nikos Papanikolaous, PhD
Chief, Division of Medical Physics
Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, PhD
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions
Bradley Tragord, DPT
Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
Lance Villers, PhD
Chair, Department of Emergency Health Sciences
Public Health
Tracey Barnett, PhD
Chair, Department of Quantitative and Qualitative Health Sciences
Biomedical Sciences
Geoffrey Clarke, PhD
Chief, Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Peter Fox, MD
Director, Research Imaging Institute
Nikos Papanikolaous, PhD
Chief, Division of Medical Physics

Task Force Work

Accreditation Organizations

These accrediting bodies are among those to be addressed as part of the Task Force’s work, with others to be added.

LCME
CODA
ARC-PA
CCNE
TBON
NAACLS
ACOTE
CAPTE
CAMPEP
CoARC
CAA
CAAHEP

Timeline

Individual timelines will be developed according to the policies and procedures of each accrediting body.