Simonian Selected to Lead Health Professions
OGDEN, Utah – Dr. Yasmen Simonian has been named the new dean of the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions at Weber State University.
Her appointment, effective July 1, was unanimously approved by WSU’s Board of Trustees during its monthly meeting held today. The announcement concludes a nationwide search conducted by the university.Simonian, who is currently the chair of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at WSU, has more than 27 years of experience as a faculty member, academic leader and clinical health care practitioner.
“I am impressed with the breadth of experience and commitment to health care education that Dr. Simonian brings to the job,” said WSU Provost Michael Vaughan. “Her background and experience have prepared her to provide strong leadership for the Dumke College of Health Professions and to further enhance its excellent reputation.”
Vaughan said that Simonian’s name recognition and strong community connections will be an asset for the Dumke College.
In accepting the appointment, Simonian said she will draw on her experiences as a faculty member to build consensus within the college, while reaching out to the health care community.
“The most important role of health care education is to produce competent health care providers to meet our communities’ needs,” Simonian said. “Our students and their education must always be our highest priority, and we need to instill in them a desire to be life-long learners, who continue to learn and keep pace with rapidly changing medical information and technologies.”
Simonian joined the WSU faculty in 1981. She has received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions three times and was honored as the 2004 Crystal Crest Master Teacher. In addition to teaching clinical laboratory sciences, she and her colleagues pioneered the development and delivery of online clinical laboratory sciences associate and bachelor’s degree programs. In 2005, Simonian received WSU’s John S. Hinckley award for excellence in teaching, service and scholarship, and later that year was recognized as Utah’s Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Last year she was appointed as a WSU Presidential Distinguished Professor.
Simonian is the author of numerous articles in professional journals and regularly presents at state, regional and national conferences on hematology, education, supervision and management topics. She serves on several professional boards at the state and national level, including past president of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science-Utah.
Simonian earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in medical laboratory sciences and her doctoral degree in patient education and counseling at the University of Utah.
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
- John Kowalewski, director of Media Relations
801-626-7212 • jkowalewski@weber.edu - Contact:
Michael Vaughan, provost
801-626-6006 · mvaughan@weber.eduYasmen Simonian, dean of the Dumke College of Health Professions
801-626-7080 · ysimonian@weber.edu