Three finalists selected for health executive director

Three finalists have been named for the position of executive director of University Health Services at UW–Madison.

The new UHS executive director will succeed Richard P. Keeling, who left UW–Madison in 1999 to start a consulting firm specializing in student health issues at colleges and universities.

The executive director oversees clinical, counseling and preventative health services for the university community. The director also provides campus leadership on health and health-related issues and is responsible for the direction, design, implementation and continuous improvement of UHS.

The finalists were recommended to Chancellor John Wiley and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows by a 10-member search-and-screen committee following a nationwide search. The committee, chaired by sociology professor Aaron Brower, was made up of faculty, staff and student representatives.

The finalists are:

— Bernette Melby, director of University Health Services at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst since 1993. Melby previously managed clinic services, medical records and the dental clinic at the University of Minnesota’s Boynton Health Service.

— Kathleen Poi, interim executive director of UW–Madison University Health Services since 1999 and clinical professor in the School of Nursing at UW–Madison. Poi previously served as deputy executive director, acting director, and associate director of Health Services at UW–Madison.

–Scott Spear, director of clinical services at UW–Madison University Health Services since 1995 and assistant professor of pediatrics at UW–Madison. Spear previously served as physician coordinator for clinical research and academic liaison for the Student Health Center at the University of Texas-Austin.

The chancellor is expected to appoint the new executive director later this summer.