Turocy Named Interim Dean of Health Sciences

Dr. Paula S. Turocy has been appointed interim dean of the John J. Rangos, Sr., School of Health Sciences for the 2016-2017 academic year. An associate professor in the Department of Athletic Training, Turocy currently directs the University’s Pre-Medical and Health Professions Programs and will continue to do so during her tenure as dean.

Dr. Paula S. Turocy

Turocy, who begins her 25th year at the University, was the founding chair of athletic training through 2013 and served as the inaugural Anna L. Rangos Rizakus Endowed Chair in Health Sciences and Ethics from 2004-2009. She brings national experience as both an educator and health care professional to her new position. Turocy’s past work as president of the Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) makes her well-qualified to oversee the five nationally-accredited professional disciplines in the school.

In 2014, Turocy was one of just six individuals inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Hall of Fame—the highest honor an athletic trainer can receive. She was the lead author of NATA’s first-ever position statement on recommendations for safe weight loss and maintenance practices in sport and exercise, which was published in 2011. In 2009, athletic trainers in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania honored Turocy with a $75,000 endowed NATA Research and Education Foundation grant in her name that provides financial support for athletic training graduate students who exhibit academic excellence and leadership.  Recently, this group again honored Turocy by naming an undergraduate scholarship after her.

Turocy is also a Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society (PATS) Hall of Fame member and a former PATS president. She was a member of the editorial boards of the two professional journals in her discipline, and she currently serves on the national committee to develop specialty certification in pediatrics.

In addition, Turocy has also been recognized for outstanding leadership, teaching and service with numerous awards, including the NATA’s Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Athletic Training Educator Award, the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and the NATA Service Award. In 2014, she was among an interprofessional education faculty team that received a Creative Teaching Award from Duquesne’s Center for Teaching Excellence.

Turocy earned a Bachelor of Science from West Chester State College; a Master of Arts from Michigan State University; and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Virginia.

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