New ColoradoSPH Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Put Students First

When Madiha Abdel-Maksoud, PhD, MD, MSPH, came to University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to earn her PhD in 2004, she was looking forward to the one-on-one mentorship that the school’s small student-to-faculty ratio offered.

Now, as the new associate dean for academic and student affairs at the Colorado School of Public Health, she hopes to model that mentorship and positive student experience for the next generation of public health professionals.

“I am an advocate for students,” she said. “I hope they feel I support them, both academically and personally.”

For nearly 20 years, Abdel-Maksoud has worked closely with students within the classroom, supporting their research, and outside of the classroom, such as when two of her students were pregnant with their first children. As a mother herself, Abdel-Maksoud said she understands the difficulty of balancing work, school, and family life, and brought that perspective to support her students who were facing similar experiences.

“I take pride in how comfortable students are talking to me,” she said. Which is why, she added, that she has an open-door policy with students, who she encourages to reach out directly to her via email, or to simply stop by her office.

As a physician, researcher, concentration director, associate professor, and now, associate dean, Abdel-Maksoud has many responsibilities, but she said she’s diving into her new role and giving it her sole focus. Her top priorities include getting to know her team and campus partners better, increasing the diversity of the student body, and ensuring students are supported throughout their academic journey and practice-ready with a degree from ColoradoSPH.

A native of Egypt, Abdel-Maksoud moved to Colorado to study here after earning her MD and MSPH from Tanta University. She was also a practitioner in Egypt before coming to the United States. She chose the University of Colorado because she wanted to study chronic disease prevention and the campus was a pioneer in that arena. As a medical school graduate, a predecessor to ColoradoSPH’s founding, Adbel-Maksoud can another description to her connection with the School—that being alumna.

Beyond the campus grounds, she volunteers regularly in the community—engaging with the Colorado Welcome Back Program and supporting the Denver Public Schools system in many ways. Abdel-Maksoud wants to ensure that ColoradoSPH is open to a wide swath of students and that they, in turn, receive an excellent educational experience. As part of her commitment to ColoradoSPH’s new vision Public Health Elevated. Rising Together for a Healthier Future for All, Abdel-Maksoud said she wants to ensure the school is offering the best academic programs so that, in turn, our alumni are providing the best public health service to the community.