The MSU PA program is pleased to announce Associate Professor Shannon Hauschildt has been selected as MSU’s next PA Program Director. Dr. Roberto Canales, who announced his retirement plan earlier this year will step down as program director on 7/1/2024.  He will return to his faculty role until his retirement on 9/1/2024.

Dr. Canales has been a PA educator for 30 years, 22 of those years at MSU, and has been a PA since 1989.  “I have elected to retire from PA education so that i can spend more time with family and friends both here and in the Rio Grande Valley in deep south Texas where i grew up. I have full and absolute confidence that under Professor Hauschildt’s leadership the MSU PA Program will enjoy a new burst of growth along the path to excellence”, said Dr. Canales.

Associate Professor Hauschildt shared, “I’m very excited about leading this successful program and continuing the rich tradition of MSU Physician Assistant Studies!”

Associate Professor Hauschildt is currently serving as the Associate Program Director in the MSU PA program. Joining the department in 2016, she has previously served the program as the Director of Didactic Education and as a professor for the following courses: Clinical Assessment I & II, Clinical Medicine I & II, Principles of Clinical Problem Solving, Laboratory Medicine & Clinical Procedures, and Clinical Practicum II. Her research interest includes female athlete triad, orthopedics, and interprofessional education. She maintains her clinical connection, working one day a week in an orthopedic setting. She also serves on the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) Employer of Excellence Awards Review Committee, as a proposal reviewer for the PA Education Association (PAEA) Education Forum, and as PAS faculty advisor for the Student Academy of the America Academy of Physician Assistants.

Associate Professor Hauschildt holds a BS in Exercise Science/Sports Medicine from Winona State University and MS in Physician Assistant Studies from Missouri State University.