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Sonya Smith, Ed.D., J.D. |
Dr. Smith has served as associate to the president and assistant vice president for academic affairs for diversity at the University of Nebraska since April 2006.
“Dr. Smith brings an array of talents and skills to UNMC that will strengthen our equity and diversity efforts,” said Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at UNMC. “I’m also very excited about the fact that she is very knowledgeable on issues of social justice and equity and those are issues that will serve us well in the College of Public Health and the Center for Health Disparities.”
Dr. Smith will assist Dr. Pamies in stronger coordination of campus diversity issues, outreach and summer programs, as well as community partnerships. She also will focus on faculty recruitment and retention issues as they relate to diversity, which is among UNMC’s 2007-2010 strategic plan goals. She also will oversee three areas: Student Services, the Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs and Community Academy.
“We are pleased Dr. Smith will be joining UNMC to coordinate and enhance our campus diversity efforts,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “Improving the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty, staff and students is a critical component of our strategic plan and Dr. Smith’s experience and expertise certainly will help guide those efforts.”
Said University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken: “We were fortunate to recruit Dr. Smith to the University of Nebraska last year after her considerable success at Vanderbilt and other institutions. She has made a positive impact on the university’s diversity initiatives in a short time, and will continue to do so in her new role at UNMC. This position is a wonderful fit for her experiences and interests, and I’m delighted that she has this new opportunity to make such an important contribution to the university.”
“I’ve truly enjoyed working with President Milliken and central administration and look forward to continued collaboration,” Dr. Smith said. “Without the president’s recruitment efforts, I would not call Nebraska my home.
“I’m very excited to join the University of Nebraska Medical Center,” she said. “This is a unique opportunity in which I can combine my passion for higher education with my desire to improve access — not only for underserved populations in the medical profession, but throughout our communities.”
Dr. Smith will replace John McClain, Ph.D., who has transitioned into a new role in UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, where he is focused on obtaining enhanced grant funding for the institute.
Before moving to Nebraska, Dr. Smith served as the associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of law at Phoenix School of Law and as associate dean of admissions and student affairs, as well as instructor, at the Vanderbilt University School of Law.
She was assistant vice chancellor for administration for the Tennessee Board of Regents and served on Tennessee’s Pre-Professional Council, where she developed strategies and programs to recruit and retain students in medical schools and other health professions.
While in Tennessee, Dr. Smith also spent seven years as a public policy consultant and worked with four state agencies in the area of health care policy and access litigation.
Dr. Smith earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, and both a doctorate of education and a law degree from Vanderbilt. For two consecutive years during her tenure at Vanderbilt, the law school enrolled more women and minorities than any time in the school’s history, while at the same time improving academically.