Nancy W. Dickey, MD

Biography

Dr. Nancy W. Dickey currently serves as a professor in the Department of Primary Care and Population Health and the Department of Medical Humanities in the College of Medicine and as a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the School of Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center.  She also carries the title President Emeritus of the Health Science Center having served in the role of president for over a decade prior to stepping out of administration and into teaching and policy development.

She serves as executive director of the A&M Rural and Community Health Institute which serves in a consultative role with hospitals and communities across the state of Texas to facilitate best practices in patient safety, enhanced quality of care, and physician excellence. The Institute was created during her time of leadership at the Health Science Center and exemplifies the importance of translating sound policy into practice not only in traditional academic health centers but across the spectrum of practice sites and care delivery.

Nancy Dickey assumed the role of president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) and vice chancellor for health affairs for The Texas A&M University System in 2002.  She served in that role until October 2012.  Under Dr. Dickey’s leadership, the health science center grew in the number of programs and number of graduates, expanded its research programs, and extended its service to the citizens of Texas.  Prior to her current appointment, she served as interim dean of the TAMHSC-College of Medicine from June 2000 until Dec. 31, 2001. Dr. Dickey is a past president of the American Medical Association, and the founding program director of the Family Medicine Residency of the Brazos Valley.

Dickey was the first woman ever to be elected president of the American Medical Association.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including six honorary doctorate degrees in both science and law.  She was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine in 2007 and to Texas’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010.  Dr. Dickey serves on numerous committees, both locally and nationally, writes for several medical and health policy journals, and is a frequent speaker at professional and civic organizations around the country and world.