Lisako McKyer, PhD, serves as Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. In this role, she oversees appointments and promotions for faculty and other instruction-related positions. McKyer also ensures the School meets DEI recruitment and retention goals and leads initiatives that advance the institution and its faculty.
McKyer previously served as the inaugural Senior Associate Dean for Climate and Diversity at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, part of Texas A&M Health, where she was on the school's executive leadership team. She established and grew the Office of Cultural Competence, Diversity, and Inclusion. McKyer was also a full tenured professor jointly appointed in the School of Public Health’s Department of Health Behavior (formerly Promotion and Community Health Sciences), and in the College of Medicine’s Department of Humanities in Medicine.
Holding a Master of Public Health as well as doctoral-level training in clinical science from Indiana University, McKyer is a population and public health disparities expert with 90-plus peer-reviewed publications, as well as a mentor to health and medical science scholars. She was the first Black woman to earn a PhD in Health Behavior from Indiana University School of Public Health and was named one of Cell Mentor’s “1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America.” She was the first Black president of the American Academy of Health Behavior, where she also holds Fellow status.