Ferris State University English professor Douglas Haneline has been named president
elect of the American Medical Writers Association, the leading professional association
for medical communicators.
“AMWA has a great opportunity to expand its role and mission today,” said Haneline, who started working at Ferris in 1984. “This opportunity has to do with the fact that all over the world there is an increasing demand for accurate and high-quality medical information. This means there is also a high demand for skilled communicators who are well-versed in science and medicine – communicators who work in every area of the health care delivery system.”
Haneline, who came to Ferris in 1984, teaches courses in literature, composition, biomedical writing and introductory Latin, and is active in regional accreditation, general education, outcomes assessment and academic program review. He also serves as Academic Senate president.
Haneline served as the university’s assistant vice president for academic affairs from 1999 to 2001 and has authored numerous articles in an array of publications. He is an AMWA Fellow and a recipient of Ferris’ Academic Excellence Award and Distinguished Service Award.
He earned his doctorate in English from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Delaware.
Haneline will become president of AMWA during its annual conference in October in Sacramento, Calif. He will serve for one year, working with the executive director and staff, a 16-member executive committee and a 40-member board to coordinate AMWA’s continuing educational and other activities, he said.
“We want to attract qualified people into this career,” Haneline said. “We want to provide high-quality professional development for our members.”
Founded in 1940, AMWA is headquartered in Rockville, Md., and has 5,500 members worldwide. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) association, AMWA offers an extensive educational program, a three-day annual conference and a forum for networking, and promotes a code of ethics within the profession, maintains an informative website (www.amwa.org) and publishes its quarterly AMWA Journal.