University Health Services senior director of primary care and specialty medical care earns American College Health Association fellowship

Senior director of primary care and specialty medical care at Texas A&M University Health Services, Martha Dannenbaum, MD, FACOG, has been selected as an American College Health Association (ACHA) Fellow for the 2023 program year.

Established in 1967, the ACHA Fellows are members who have demonstrated unparalleled service to the association and have embodied superior professional stature and performance in the field of college health.

A Texas A&M University graduate, Dannenbaum ‘83 obtained her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After completing a residency program in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, she worked in private practice for 15 years, joining the Texas A&M University health center in 2006 and becoming director in 2008.

At Texas A&M, Dannenbaum continues to play a vital role in the care of students and is easily recognized as an expert in her field, both locally and nationally.

Dannenbaum has worked to foster student success both at Texas A&M University and beyond. She chaired the ACHA Wellness Coalition for Veteran Students from 2016–2021 and served as the senior lead for the Texas A&M University team in Pursuing the Triple Aim in a Higher Education Setting Collaborative. Dannenbaum also played an integral role in the National College Health Immunization Collaborative and the National College Depression Partnership (NCDP).

Dannenbaum’s influence has extended beyond the Texas A&M community, said Carlo Ciotoli, MD, MPA, vice president for campus health at New York University.

“She led a significant redesign of services to implement the collaborative care model for depression, including universal depression screening in medical services, care management with proactive follow-up, and increased psychotropic prescribing capacity in a significantly underserved area of the country,” Ciotoli said.

Currently, Dannenbaum serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the Texas A&M School of Medicine and is a member of the governance team and a network facilitator for the Action Network for Equitable Wellbeing (ANEW).

Dannenbaum is passionate about college health and strives to help students live out the motto, “Stay well, do well,” during their time at Texas A&M.

Nancy Fahrenwald, PhD, RN, PHNA-BC, FAAN, associate vice president of Texas A&M University Health Services, expressed her support for this commendable recognition.

“Dr. Dannenbaum is a highly respected leader in college health. This distinguished recognition as a Fellow of the American College Health Association is well-deserved, reflecting her tremendous contributions to advancing the health and health care for university students.”

Dannenbaum was inducted as an ACHA Fellow on May 31, 2023, during the annual ACHA meeting, held in Boston, Massachusetts.