Leadership Announcement
Message originally sent Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Effective June 1, 2021, Marymargaret Sharp-Pucci, EdD, MPH, will assume responsibilities as our inaugural Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health. She will remain acting chair for the Department of Healthcare Administration until successful completion of the national search currently underway to fill the chair position. Effective August 15, 2021, Associate Professor Maggie Ozan-Rafferty, MBA, DHA, will assume responsibilities for the Program Director of the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration program.
As a long-standing educator, Sharp-Pucci’s career has been dedicated to creating high quality systems of care and developing the next generation of healthcare administrators to lead into the future. She has a doctorate in education psychology and leadership; and master's degrees in exercise physiology, rehabilitation counseling and family therapy, and public health administration and policy.
Sharp-Pucci’s career includes senior positions with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Loyola University Health System. She is a nationally recognized advocate for persons with disabilities. She was a President George W. Bush appointee, advising his administration on disability and healthcare policy, and an appointee of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, advising on rehabilitation coverage policy. She has also collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on strategies for people with disabilities and was a lead architect for the State of Illinois in the development of a health outcomes framework for the Department of Human Services.
Sharp-Pucci currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Aurora University and is an appointee of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker focused on disability economics issues. She is the recipient of the Marian Goldman Lifetime Achievement Award and the George Williams College Distinguished Alumni Award.
Sharp-Pucci has been teaching at Loyola University Chicago for nearly 20 years, becoming full-time faculty in 2009 in the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. She assumed responsibilities as department chair of healthcare administration when the Parkinson School was formed in 2019, where she has served as co-chair of the Executive Committee and member of the School’s Leadership Team. Her accomplishments include developing and directing the nationally-accredited undergraduate program in healthcare administration and the establishment of the new MHA program. She is warmly regarded by students and colleagues alike and has developed strong alumni and external relations.
She truly embodies the magis spirit and our shared vision of “the more universal good” and the entrepreneurial spirit to pursue what will make the widest positive impact on others.
Elaine Morrato, DrPH, MPH, CPH
Founding Dean and Professor
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health