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Dr. Summer McGee, dean of the University’s School of Health Sciences, and Jill Bryant Mayer, a manufacturing CEO and member of the University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Advisory Board, were among Connecticut Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2019.

February 1, 2019

By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Summer McGee, 37, a national expert in health policy, healthcare management, bioethics, and the ethical issues surrounding chronic pain treatment and management, is one of the youngest deans of health services in the country. Since earning a Ph.D. at the age of 25, she has spent more than a decade working in healthcare, healthcare administration, and health policy.

Last summer, she was named the founding dean of the University’s School of Health Sciences.

"Even though our School of Health Sciences is new, the process of building what we think is the future for healthcare education took time," she says.

"It was very exciting to be recognized by Connecticut Magazine. I appreciate the acknowledgement of all the hard work and all the things that I’ve been able to do while at the University. It was a really thrilling, and very humbling, recognition of what I’ve been doing."Summer McGee, Ph.D., CPH

The culmination of nearly three years of collaboration and planning, the School of Health Sciences officially opened in 2018, and McGee, who previously served as chair of the University’s Department of Health Sciences, became its first dean. Months later, the School accepted an award from the for its innovative approach to preparing healthcare professionals for the 21st century.

Cited as one of the top 50 healthcare management professors in the country, McGee has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications, encyclopedia entries, book chapters, and commentaries. She collaborated with to establish a learning laboratory partnership between the hospital and the University’s graduate students in healthcare administration.

In recognition of her work, McGee was named to .

"It was very exciting to be recognized by Connecticut Magazine," said McGee. "I appreciate the acknowledgement of all the hard work and all the things that I’ve been able to do while at the University. It was a really thrilling, and very humbling, recognition of what I’ve been doing."

Also Joining McGee on the "40 Under 40" list is Jill Bryant Mayer, 37, of Cheshire, the CEO of – a fifth generation manufacturing company long recognized for its history of innovation – who is a member of the advisory board for the University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program.