University Health Services selects new prevention director

Thomas L. Sieger has been named the new director of prevention services and campus health initiatives at University Health Services (UHS), the student health clinic of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Sieger currently serves as the deputy administrator of the Wisconsin Division of Public Health. From 1996-2006, he was director of the division’s Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health.

“Tom Sieger brings a wealth of public health expertise that spans health promotion, disease prevention, environmental and occupational health, and communicable disease control,” says Sarah Van Orman, executive director of UHS. “I’m delighted he’s going to join us. He will be a tremendous asset to UHS and to the campus.”

The director of prevention services oversees UHS teams involved in addressing issues such as high-risk alcohol use; creating a healthy learning environment; and decreasing sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

The position is the chief UHS representative on campus and community health and prevention policy. Among the units that will report to Sieger are the Environmental Health Program — which helps safeguard air, food and water quality across campus — and the grant-funded Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Prevention Resources.

“It’s a privilege to be selected for this position,” says Sieger. “My entire career has been focused on public health prevention, and I’m looking forward to promoting initiatives that help students maximize their experience here and enhance the health of the campus community as a whole.”

Sieger received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from UW–Madison and a master’s degree in environmental health sciences from Hunter College in New York City. Since 2005, he has been an adjunct lecturer for the master’s of public health program at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Sieger’s work at the Division of Public Health included responsibility for statewide public health emergency preparedness planning and response; most recently, he served as incident commander for Wisconsin’s H1N1 influenza response. He has also managed environmental and occupational health and safety programs for private industry. In 2004, the Wisconsin Environmental Health Association named him Environmental Health Professional of the Year.

Sieger’s new position is effective Monday, April 12. He will earn an annual salary of $104,000. He replaces Susan Crowley, who resigned from UHS in August to accept an appointment as administrator of the Division of Long Term Care at the state Department of Health Services.