Summer McGee

Dr. Summer McGee began as President of Salem Academy and College on July 1, 2021.

Summer Johnson McGee, Ph.D., CPH, is a prominent advocate for the education and advancement of women in Health Leadership, for the advancement of diversity, and for the power of educational innovation. She received the American College of Healthcare Executives Distinguished Faculty Regents Award in 2014, was named in 2015 one of the Top 50 U.S. Healthcare Management Professors, and was recognized as one of Connecticut Magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2019.

As the Founding Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven, Dr. McGee accomplished an ambitious strategic plan overseeing the creation of more than a dozen new in-person and online undergraduate and graduate level academic programs, including one of the only professional doctoral programs in health sciences in the nation. Under her leadership, the University of New Haven’s healthcare management graduate program became the ninth largest in the nation, including its executive program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, both of which were accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education and became the only program of its kind in Southern New England. She also led the University of New Haven’s COVID-19 response and became a sought after academic and media expert related to COVID-19 in the last year.

Dr. McGee has published widely on social, political, and ethical issues in healthcare and biomedical science with a particular focus on the importance of education and public engagement for solving problems of public health. Her comments have appeared in major international and national media including the New York Times, ABC News, USA Today, NBC News, Buzzfeed, Cheddar, the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, Newsday, Yahoo Finance, and the Boston Herald. A respected educator, Dr. McGee received the University of New Haven’s Excellence in Teaching award in 2017.

Dr. McGee holds a PhD in Bioethics & Health Policy from The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Philosophy and a BA in Bioethics from Indiana University Bloomington (IU). She also is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Management Development Program. Before joining the University of New Haven, Dr. McGee served on the faculty of Loyola University Chicago, the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and Albany Medical College.