As the Physician Assistant program director, Virginia Snyder works closely with faculty, staff and students to develop and administer all facets of the PA program, including curriculum, clinical experiences, program evaluation and accreditation. Snyder is also active in student instruction, professional development, committee service, outreach activities and scholarly projects.
She joined the program in 2003 as a faculty associate and during her tenure has been involved in many instructional areas, with an emphasis on neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurology. She became the interim program director in 2006, full-time director in July, 2008 and was recently promoted to professor in the Clinical Health Sciences (CHS) track.
Snyder has served as the principal investigator for several Title VII HRSA Grants over the years with focus on developing and implementing PA training program initiatives, particularly to serve the mission of the PA program. The latest grant is aimed at recruiting and training Mission Match students for future practice in rural and underserved communities/populations. Other grant objectives include curriculum and skills in addiction medicine and behavioral health, and student/practitioner wellness.
From 2001-08, Snyder practiced in the Neurosurgery Center at Mercy Health System in Janesville, Wisconsin, where she served as the program director of the Mercy Institute of Neuroscience, an integrated, interdisciplinary program for patients with spine and neurological disorders.
From 1988 to 1999, Snyder was a professor of biology at UW-Platteville.
She received a doctorate in medical science, with an emphasis on anatomy, from the Medical College of Ohio in 1988. Additionally, she has experience in clinical lab science, working in Ohio as a medical technologist in Defiance and Wauseon from 1975-1988.
Snyder has served in academia for nearly 29 years and has been recognized nationally for her contributions to PA education with the Master Faculty Award from the Physician Assistant Education Association.