Dr. Cyndi Scheuer named Dean of the HFC School of Health and Human Services
At the HFC Board of Trustees Meeting on August 8, Dr. Cyndi Scheuer (pronounced “Shoyer”) was named the Dean of the HFC School of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Since January, Scheuer has served as the HHS interim dean after founding dean Dr. Susan Shunkwiler retired in December 2021. Scheuer reports to HFC Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Michael Nealon. Previously, Scheuer served as the HHS associate dean throughout 2021.
“I’m honored and humbled by the support of my colleagues and the opportunity provided by HFC to assume this role,” said Scheuer. “The HHS faculty and staff support has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Lifelong Dearborn resident
Scheuer graduated from Edsel Ford High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Oakland University, where she majored in physical therapy and minored in psychology. She earned her master’s degree in health services administration from Central Michigan University, and earned her doctorate in higher education leadership from Walden University.
Scheuer also completed 21 credit hours toward her doctorate in physical therapy at Oakland. During her undergraduate days at Oakland, she took a class at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College) during the summer. Scheuer is a member of Dearborn Business Leaders, the Michigan Early Middle College Association, and the American Physical Therapy Association.
A lifelong Dearborn resident, Scheuer lives with Mike, her husband of 33 years, a retired engineer from Ford Motor Co.. They have two sons: Ben and Alex. Both their sons attended HFC. Ben earned his associate degree in computer information systems, while Alex took general education classes.
Inspired by her aunt, who was an occupational therapist, Scheuer said going into physical therapy was the right fit for her. She began her PT career at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. She later worked at Garden City Hospital, the Detroit Medical Center, and Henry Ford Health System before deciding to return to academics.
Extrapolating her 15 years in healthcare into higher ed
“When you’re a physical therapist, you don’t see your patients once a year; you see them on an ongoing basis. During my physical therapy career, I was also a clinical instructor and presented at various seminars and patient education support groups. This inspired me to go into teaching. It was a new challenge I wanted to take on. I wanted to build relationships with students the way I had with patients and help them change their lives, so it was a natural fit for me to move into teaching.”
With the exception of teaching one semester at Macomb Community College, Scheuer has spent her entire career in higher education at HFC. When she started at HFC in 2003, she was an instructor in the Physical Therapist Assistant program.
“I met many students who were either in or graduated from HFC’s PTA program when I was a clinical instructor,” said Scheuer. “The PTA program is a quality program, and I wanted to be a part of it. It allowed me to make a difference helping people move their lives in a positive direction. HFC is dedicated to doing that. The faculty here go above and beyond for their students, which is amazing. To be part of that every day is exciting.”
Throughout her time at HFC, Scheuer served as PTA clinical director and PTA program director before becoming associate dean. She also served on numerous committees at the College, including:
- The Committee for the Assessment of Student Learning
- The Committee for the Assessment of Student Learning-Institutional Learning Outcomes (CASL-ILO)
- Curriculum Committee
- Degree Requirements
- Strategic Planning
- First Year Experience Taskforce
“I learned a lot being on those committees,” she said. “It allowed me to see HFC as a whole.”
Eager for new challenges
Scheuer spoke about going into administration.
“I was ready for new challenges and new ways to make a difference in our students’ lives. I wanted to inspire students to get the most out of their college careers,” she said. “It is important as a College to understand the needs and talents of the students both individually and as a student body. To be respectful and responsive to the needs of the students, it is important to support the faculty and staff to be able to engage the whole student and to provide them an opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills needed to move forward to the next level.”
She also spoke about following Shunkwiler's leadership.
“Susan did amazing work. She reformed the College’s Nursing program and assisted in obtaining accreditation for many programs in HHS. She left HHS in a good place. It won’t be hard to follow; I can pick up where she left off. I plan to learn from Susan’s strengths and continue growing HHS in new directions.”
For Scheuer, the best part of her job is the students.
“It is our job to make sure the students succeed,” she said. “I enjoy attending pinning ceremonies and commencement. I’m proud to see them achieve that and see their sense of accomplishment. It doesn’t get much better than that. It puts it in perspective and makes the many tedious tasks of the job all worth it.”