John
Crissman, MD, dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has
announced the appointment of Helene Lycaki, PhD, to the newly created
position of assistant dean for health affairs. After
earning a master’s degree from the University of Athens, Dr. Lycaki
left her native Greece for WSU, where she earned a PhD in clinical
psychology and has been a respected member of the School of Medicine
faculty and the Michigan mental health community for the past 30 years. Through
a long history of leadership positions in the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Neurosciences that stretch throughout much of her career,
Dr. Lycaki has learned the importance of building relationships and of
finding and cultivating
necessary resources. In her new position, she will use this experience
to identify networking opportunities that link outside resources to
clinical, research and educational programs within the School of
Medicine. A
great deal of Dr. Lycaki’s time in this position will be devoted to
articulating the school’s mission in a way that it is clear to
government officials how the school positively impacts their
constituencies. “There
has to be a close relationship between academia and government because
our missions are so similar,” she said. “This is especially true in
medicine where we try to improve the health of our patients through
research, education and clinical care and they try through effective
public policy and efficient delivery of service.” Dean
Crissman noted that, while the School of Medicine relies upon WSU’s
governmental and community affairs office to provide its primary voice
in Lansing and Washington, Dr. Lycaki can provide another set of eyes
and ears on its behalf. “Helene Lycaki’s years of experience in dealing with all sorts of programmatic and other tough issues uniquely suits her for this position,” Dr. Crissman said. “Plus, she has an incredible memory for both people and figures and is as persistent as they come. She will be a great asset to the School of Medicine – to all of WSU, for that matter – in this position.” |
