The American Medical Colleges Group on Institutional Planning has recognized Donna Gissen with the Distinguished Service Award for 2018. This award recognizes one individual annually with a long record of leadership and achievement in the field of medical school planning. Gissen currently serves as the senior director of campus transformation planning at University of Utah Health.
Gissen has a wealth of experience in this arena, having worked in planning for academic medical centers for nearly 30 years. She joined University of Utah Health in 2016 to lead the campus transformation initiative, after serving as assistant vice president at University of Louisville, overseeing the planning and operations of the health sciences center there. She was also a major contributor to the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Institutional Planning’s “Planner’s Toolkit,” which is used across academic medical centers to effectively plan and strategize for growth.
At University of Utah Health, Gissen has been instrumental in connecting all aspects of our tripartite mission in this ground-breaking campus transformation. Her strategic vision has propelled this project to the next level, uniting the clinical, education, and discovery aspects of our health center in one collaborative, physical location.
The campus transformation project is the first of its kind at the university. With more than 800k square feet of new space, this project will transform the health campus to allow us to better serve the growing population of our state and better train the next generation of health care professionals.
Construction has already begun on two of the three new buildings, with completion of the entire project expected in 2022. Our new buildings will help us improve science, training, and care services to bring world-class health to more patients in Utah and beyond. More information about this project is available at Campus Transformation.