Academic Deans Council

Suzanne Thomas, Ph.D., is the associate provost for Educational Planning & Effectiveness at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She received her bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and her Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of South Carolina. She is a graduate of the Harvard Leadership Development Institute.  

Dr. Thomas directs the university’s continuous quality improvement strategies and champions stewardship and accountability for MUSC's academic enterprise, overseeing the Office of Enrollment Management, which includes University Admissions, University Financial Aid, and the University Registrar and Student Records, and Office of Institutional Effectiveness. By centralizing institutional effectiveness and institutional research and reporting, the university can make data-informed decisions, develop targeted improvement plans, demonstrate accountability, and determine how to allocate resources to MUSC's best advantage. She is the liaison to the university’s accrediting body (SACSCOC) and represents the educational enterprise to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.

Visit the Office of Enrollment Management

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Michael J. Bouchard, Ph.D., FAPTA, directs the College of Graduate Studies, overseeing graduate education and postdoctoral training programs. He supports students and trainees in advancing research, fostering mentorship, and preparing for impactful careers in science and academia.

Catherine Durham, DNP, APRN, FNP, FAAN, is an accomplished health care leader, educator and clinician who currently serves as Dean of the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). With nearly three decades of experience as a nurse and family nurse practitioner, including 27 years of distinguished service in the United States Navy, she has dedicated her career to advancing nursing education, clinical excellence and health care access.

During her military service, Dr. Durham earned recognition for outstanding leadership, receiving honors such as the Navy’s Rising Star and Excellence in Nursing Awards, multiple Meritorious Service Medals, Teaching Excellence Awards and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Since assuming leadership of MUSC’s College of Nursing in 2023, Dr. Durham has guided the college through significant growth and advancement. Under her leadership, the college has expanded graduate offerings, including the addition of an Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (ACPNP) track in the DNP and MSN programs.

Dr. Durham’s career reflects an unwavering dedication to advancing the nursing profession, strengthening health care systems and improving access to care. Her leadership continues to inspire future generations of nurses, while her vision and commitment ensure that MUSC’s College of Nursing remains at the forefront of innovation, research and service to the community.

Read More: Dr. Catherine Durham, Navy veteran and graduate nursing practice leader, named new MUSC College of Nursing dean.

Philip D. Hall, Pharm.D., FCCP, is professor and dean of the College of Pharmacy at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Georgia and Doctor of Pharmacy from the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University). He served as an oncology pharmacy resident at the Audie L. Murphy Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and completed a fellowship in cancer immunotherapy research at the University of Texas Health Science in San Antonio and the University of Texas College of Pharmacy.

As an academician, Dr. Hall’s passion and commitment to pharmacy education is evident by his work at MUSC over the past 32 years. Since joining the faculty, he has risen from assistant professor to tenured professor and held multiple administrative roles with both the MUSC College of Pharmacy and South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP). As associate dean and subsequently MUSC campus dean within the SCCP, he played a significant leadership role in developing the joint SCCP curriculum and program assessment while overseeing admissions and mentoring students. In 2016, he formally became dean of the MUSC College of Pharmacy upon its re-accreditation as an independent institution.

Board certified in both pharmacotherapy and oncology pharmacy, Dr. Hall is an accomplished writer, presenter, and researcher with over 120 publications, book chapters, & presentations. He is an acclaimed instructor, receiving a number of classroom and bedside teaching awards including professor/teacher/preceptor of the year 10 times and is a Fellow in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Sarandeep S. Huja, D.D.S., Ph.D., has served as professor of the Department of Orthodontics and dean of the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) since October 2017.

Dr. Huja initially received his dental (1987) and orthodontic (1992) training from the Government Dental College and Hospital, Bombay. From 1993 to 2001, he was associated with three U.S. institutions, receiving his Master of Science (1995) from Marquette University, his Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science (1999) and Orthodontic Certificate (1999) from Indiana University, and his Doctor of Dental Surgery (2001) from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry. His Ph.D. was conducted under the mentorship of Dr. David Burr from the Department of Anatomy and Dr. W. Eugene Roberts in Orthodontics from Indiana University. From 2001 to 2011, he served as faculty at the Ohio State University, working under the mentorship of Dr. Katherine Vig, a world-renowned orthodontist and educator. In 2011, he joined the University of Kentucky as chief of the Division of Orthodontics. In 2016, he was appointed the program director of Orthodontics and associate dean for Faculty and Student Development and Graduate Studies at the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Huja has served as advisor for both the Ph.D. and Master's graduate students and taught Orthodontics and Bone Biology to dental and graduate students. His research seeks to understand bone remodeling, osteoclast biology, and adaptation to physical forces, including tooth movement. His students have been recognized with national awards for projects related to tooth movement and implant adaptation biology. He also served as the president of the Craniofacial Biology Group of the International Association of Dental Research.
At MUSC, Dr. Huja has worked on the expansion of off-peninsula oral and dental clinics at Ryan White and in West Ashley and Summerville. He also recently moved the college to an integrated electronic health record system, Epic Wisdom, and is focusing the college's attention on rural expansion throughout the state and integration into MUSC Health facilities.

Dr. Huja is a member of the Midwest component of the E.H. Angle Society and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. He also maintains an intramural faculty practice.

Dr. Zoher Kapasi is the Dean of College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.

Before becoming the dean, Dr. Kapasi served as the Director and Professor in the Division of Physical Therapy and Vice Chair of Education of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Physical Therapy from the University of Bombay, India, Ph.D. in Anatomy/Immunobiology from Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia and Executive MBA from the Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta. He did post-doctoral work in Immunology at Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland and Medical College of Virginia. After graduation, his research focused on age-related changes in immune function and the effects of exercise and nutrition on the immune system.

Currently, Dr. Kapasi serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation. Dr. Kapasi has taught human anatomy, advanced human anatomy, and business management for the physical therapist in the physical therapy program. In 2014, Emory University School of Medicine conferred the Dean’s Teaching Award to Dr. Kapasi. In 2017, Emory University conferred the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award and the Atlanta Business Chronicle awarded the Health Care Heroes Allied Health Professional Award. An active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Dr. Kapasi has served as the secretary of American Council of Academic Physical Therapy and chaired the Education Leadership Partnership of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Terrence E. "Terry" Steyer, M.D., is a graduate of Allegheny College (BS in Mathematics) and Case Western Reserve University (MD). He completed his family medicine residency training at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. Dr. Steyer began his academic career at the Medical University of South Carolina, serving as the director of the Trident – MUSC Transitional Year Residency and director of a medical school course on evidence-based medicine.

In 2009, he was recruited to the Medical College of Georgia – University of Georgia Medical Partnership where he served as the founding chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences. In this role, Dr. Steyer developed and managed the third- and fourth-year medical school curriculum for a new branch campus of the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Steyer was recruited back to MUSC in 2014 to serve as chair of the Department of Family Medicine and was named the first Gregory-Chandler Endowed Chair in Family Medicine in 2015. In 2017, he was named chief of the Primary Care Integrated Center for Clinical Excellence (ICCE) and President of Carolina Family Care. In these roles, Dr. Steyer has served as leader of primary care efforts across MUSC Health. In 2021, he was elected by his peers to serve as president of MUSC Physicians, the faculty group practice. He was appointed Interim Dean of the College of Medicine in April of 2022 and, following a national search, was elected Dean of the College of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs by the MUSC Board of Trustees in December of 2022.

Dr. Steyer is an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, for which he served as National President 2009-10. He is an active researcher in the area of health care policy and leadership development for health care professionals. His current work includes research on the evolution of primary care medicine at MUSC.

He is married to Kelly Clifton Steyer, an RN, and has two college-aged sons.