Dr. Michael H. Mittelman will be the next president of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, officials announced Wednesday.
Mittelman will assume the presidency on Aug. 1, according to a news release from the university. He succeeds Interim President Dr. Robbyn Wacker, who began in that role on Oct 7. Her time as interim president came after the Aug. 6 death of PNWU's sixth president, Dr. Michael Lawler. He died at age 61 following a cancer diagnosis in January.
A native of Long Beach, New York, Mittelman earned his Doctor of Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1980 and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps, the news release said. He retired as a Rear Admiral after a 33-year military career, culminating in his service as Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy.
In 2013, Mittelman became the sixth president of Salus University in Pennsylvania, which offers degree programs for health care professionals. He led the school through a decade of academic growth and interdisciplinary collaboration, recently guiding the successful merger of Salus University with Drexel University in Philadelphia, the release said.
"It is a real honor to be named president of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, especially at such a defining time in its evolution," Mittelman said in the release. "PNWU has earned a reputation for purpose-driven innovation, academic excellence, and a steadfast commitment to underserved communities.
"To be entrusted with leading the next chapter of that journey is both humbling and energizing."
A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Academy of Optometry, Mittelman holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an MBA from Temple University's Fox Business School.
Mittelman's focus will be on sustaining momentum "by employing a deliberate planning process to meet our collective goals," he said in the release.
"That means taking a strategic pause on rapid growth to ensure we have the right support and infrastructure in place," he added. "Strengthening clinical training pipelines, enhancing our research infrastructure, and deepening our community and interprofessional partnerships will remain priorities."
PNWU opened in 2008 to train health care professionals to serve rural and underserved communities in the Northwest, and today has about 650 students. It offers degrees in osteopathic medicine, physical and occupational therapy and a master of arts in medical sciences. It recently started a new School of Dental Medicine.
The university's board of trustees led the national presidential search process, the release said.