Schumann Named New Director
Dr. Sarah-Anne Schumann Takes on New Role as Director of Community Health and Service-Learning
Sarah-Anne Schumann, MD
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine has always placed great value on serving those within our community. The recent appointment of Dr. Sarah-Anne Schumann, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, to Director of Community Health and Service-Learning further illustrates this commitment along with a desire to create even more robust service experiences for our students.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to enhance the service-learning initiatives at Pritzker with this new position. I have been involved in community service since I was in high school and decided to go to medical school in order to have an intellectually challenging career working in underserved communities,” Dr. Schumann says of her interest in service and her excitement about the new position.
In her new role, Dr. Schumann will serve as the faculty liaison for all community-health and service initiatives emanating from the Pritzker School of Medicine. She will be the faculty advisor for leaders of the student-led free health clinics, school-based health education groups, and community service organizations.
“As a faculty member, I quickly recognized Dr. Schumann’s enthusiasm, interest, and passion in community health and education and in developing both community-based partnerships and service-learning opportunities for our students,” notes Dr. Holly Humphrey regarding Dr. Schumann’s appointment. “Her expertise and demonstrated commitment to serving the South Chicago community will be a valuable addition to our outstanding leadership team.”
Pritzker students work with New Millennium School of Health students during the Day of Service, which Dr. Schumann helped organize.
Dr. Schumann’s first initiative will be to create and direct the Summer Service Program (SSP), a full time summer program open to rising second-year medical students and local high school students in our partner neighborhoods (currently South Chicago and Greater Grand Crossing). The program is funded in part by the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators’ Medical Education Grant.
As implementation planning continues on the Pritzker Initiative, Dr. Schumann will also help develop the curriculum for the Community Health track of the Pritzker Initiative’s Scholarship and Discovery requirement. In the spring of 2010, she will direct an elective in service-learning to help student leaders enhance their community service activities, work in close partnership with community groups, and evaluate their programs in a meaningful way.
“I am very impressed with the commitment of the Pritzker School of Medicine, the UCMC, and, most of all, the students toward improving the health of the surrounding communities,” notes Dr. Schumann. “I look forward to expanding the service-learning opportunities for all Pritzker students — from those who will only have time for the quarterly Days of Service to those incoming students who choose to join Pritzker Community Service Fellowship, participate in SSP, or who are part of the Community Health track for Scholarship and Discovery.”
“As a faculty member, I quickly recognized Dr. Schumann’s enthusiasm, interest, and passion in community health and education and in developing both community-based partnerships and service-learning opportunities for our students,” — Dr. Holly J. Humphrey
