Name: Deborah Beck
Title/department: Director, Student Health Services
Time at USC: Since Feb. 16
Education: Bachelor's, master's degrees; final phase of dissertation in higher education leadership
Previous job: Health center director, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC

What are your job duties? I supervise and provide leadership for all of student health services at USC, which includes Thomson Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Health and Wellness, Sexual Health and Violence, and Wellness Works.

How did you get into student health? I majored in respiratory therapy, and I had a rotation in the intensive care nursery where I fell in love with working with those babies. After graduation, I managed the life support for these babies as a pediatric/neonatal clinical specialist at an intensive care nursery. I did air and ground transport of newborns and premature infants. Then I found myself teaching a lot and I loved teaching so I took a position at a community college where I set up the first respiratory therapy program in that part of the state. I did that for 11 years, and that's when I fell in love with education. So the combination of teaching and healthcare is a perfect fit for me.

How did you find out about USC? I knew the former director of student health services here--Bill Hill--and I once half-jokingly said to him, 'You have a great job. When you retire, I'm going to get it.' So when he decided to retire, he called me and said, 'I'm leaving. Were you serious?'

What will be your biggest undertaking? The biggest long-term goal is to move into a new health center down the line.

When will that happen? We are still in the beginning phases of the planning stage. We're looking at moving in Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. We have students involved in planning the center and we're probably going to hold a lot of focus groups across campus in the near future. I'm all about collaborating. I'd like the center to be technically state-of-the-art yet still have a living room atmosphere so that students feel welcomed and comfortable. I was involved in building a new health center while I was at Western Carolina. Through that process I learned a lot about what works well and what doesn't.

What else lies in your future? The Healthy Carolina initiative. I'm looking so forward to being part of that, not only for students but also for faculty and staff. A healthy campus is a productive campus.

Who are the new Gamecocks in your family? My identical twin boys. They are going to be students at USC this fall. Brandon wants to major in pharmacy; Christopher wants to major in political science with the intention of going to law school. You cannot imagine how excited I am, knowing that my boys are going to be here.

6/06