Health Education Accreditation Task Force

The Health Education Accreditation (HEA) Task Force for the merger of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio ensured compliance with all program-level accreditations at UT Health San Antonio through the integration. The HEA Task Force oversaw initial discovery efforts, recommended development activities, drafted content for required notifications and submissions to relevant program-level accreditors. Members assigned to the task force (e.g., Deans, relevant accreditation liaison) reflect each program-level accreditation and/or School that required action in connection with the merger.

The HEA Task Force has completed its initial scope of work and successfully submitted notification of the merger to all program accreditors. The ongoing monitoring of compliance with health education program-level accreditation requirements is the responsibility of each program.

Task Force Updates

Update
Date

Health Education – September 2025

  • Secured key accreditation approvals: LCME (MD program merger), CODA (dental sponsorship transfer), and required nursing notifications (CCNE, TBON, COA).
  • Notified all other accrediting agencies and updated external admissions platforms with new institutional name and integration history to ensure compliance and continuity.
  • Members completed a successful submission of pre-notification documents to Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for Doctor of Medicine Degree Program and Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) for Dental Degree Programs.
  • Members continued data gathering to achieve what is needed by accreditation bodies and mapping out program-specific needs for spring and summer 2025 deadlines.
  • Members reviewed and began coordinating UT Health San Antonio’s multiple program-level accreditation requirements to ensure compliance through the merger.

Task Force Team

Co-Chairs
David C. Shelledy, PhD
Dean, School of Health Professions
Health Campus
Heather Shipley, PhD
Provost and Senior Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Academic Campus
Members
Francisco Cigarroa, MD
Senior Executive Vice President for Health Affairs & Health System
Sonya Renae Hardin, PhD, MBA/MHA
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, Marmion 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, RN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Nursing
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
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, 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 Quality Health Sciences, School of Public Health
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

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