Annette Valenta Bio

Annette Valenta, DrPH
Professor

Annette Valenta joined UIC in 1991 to implement the specialization in health informatics within the Master of Business Administration degree, a model curriculum developed through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From that successful venture, she spearheaded the development of a full HI degree in the Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences in UIC’s College of Applied Health Sciences, and she chaired that department until 2007. She now serves as Associate Dean for Health Informatics and Technology in the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, and as such is synthesizing health informatics endeavors across campus. She helped write the business plan for UIC’s inter-college Institute for Patient Safety, and continues to work with the institute as the expert in informatics. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Valenta worked as a health care consultant, as a National Program Director at the American Hospital Association, and in her own business doing research in the field of health care executive information systems.

Dr. Valenta is proud that nearly all her degrees are from UIC. She completed the Doctorate of Public Health in 1981, the Master of Public Health in 1975, and earned a Bachelor of Science in 1974. In 1998, she experienced online education firsthand by earning the Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning from The California State University Hayward.

Areas of interest
Assessing social-behavioral issues in health informatics
User perspectives on health care technologies
The role of information technology in patient safety