Noma Anderson, dean of the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has appointed Matthew Allman, MPAS, PA-C, chair for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. Allman is assuming the position vacated by Linda Reed, EdD, PA, the department’s previous chair, who retired on June 30. Joining the UTHSC faculty in November 2012, Allman served as clinical coordinator for the PA Studies program until July 2014, when he became the program director. His appointment as department chair and program director became effective on July 1.
“As is customary in PA programs, there will now be one person with the title and responsibilities of department chair and program director,” Dean Anderson said. “Matthew has demonstrated strong leadership skills in his position as program director, and I look forward to working with him in his new role within the college.”
Allman can be considered an academic Renaissance man. He earned a paramedic certificate from the Methodist Dallas Medical Center in 1991. In 1995, he was awarded a B.A. in political science from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. In 1999, he accrued 21 graduate hours in legislative affairs at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Then, in 2003, he was awarded the Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Prior to joining UTHSC, Allman was a physician assistant at The Juilliard School in New York City. His previous, diverse careers include serving as director of the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Page Residence Hall; shipboard director, West Island College International – Class Afloat; and head golf coach at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans and then at St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
With its first class enrolled in 2014, the UTHSC PA Studies program is the only PA program in the state of Tennessee that is associated with a public university. Each year the department can enroll about 25 students in the two-year, master’s-level program. The mission of the PA Studies program at UTHSC is to prepare a diverse group of highly skilled physician assistant practitioners who are dedicated to improving access and providing high quality care. The inaugural class, which is scheduled to graduate in spring 2016, was evenly balanced with 13 males and 13 females, surpassing the national average of 75 percent female students. The class is also considerably above national averages with regards to ethnicity/race.
Founded in 1972, the College of Health Professions (COHP) comprises six departments: Audiology and Speech Pathology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Health Informatics and Information Management, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, and Physical Therapy. The COHP has some 8,500 alumni, many who work in clinical, administrative, educational and service roles throughout the state of Tennessee and around the world. With its administrative offices and most educational programs located on the UTHSC Memphis campus, the college also has a major presence in Knoxville where UTHSC is constructing a $20 million facility for the college’s Audiology and Speech Pathology Department.