Melanie Storms, PsyD

Melanie Storms, PsyD joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) leadership team as Vice Chancellor in August 2023 and is based on the St. Augustine, FL campus. She previously served on the USAHS Board of Directors for six years, specifically serving on the Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

The Vice Chancellor oversees the University’s strategic imperatives, including program strategy, partnership and new venture development, and continuing professional education. In addition, the Vice Chancellor provides institutional oversight and is responsible for building strong and collaborative relationships among campuses and support services within the University.

Dr. Storms’ background includes serving in a senior leadership capacity in higher education, including driving strategic program development and managing large-scale, complex health sciences organizations. She has held a variety of roles including college vice president, campus president, vice president of academic affairs, dean and program chair. She has extensive experience working with both programmatic and regional accreditation, having directed programs through the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, Council on Social Work Education and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, as well as reaffirmation through the Higher Learning Commission and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Most recently, Dr. Storms was the Senior Vice President for Saint Leo University in central Florida. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing the university’s many off-campus educational centers, main campus operations and its center for online learning. She also led a national partnership strategy and during interim appointments provided oversight of enrollment management and student affairs. As a university administrator, she has worked with traditional graduate student populations and adult learners at the graduate and undergraduate levels in both campus-based and online settings.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Storms has served in a variety of community healthcare roles, including director of a partial hospitalization program and manager of clinical services at a large community mental health center.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Central Florida and her Master of Science and Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology. She also completed an internship and residency at the Miami VA Medical Center, the HERS Leadership Institute at Bryn Mawr and a post-doctoral certificate in diversity, equity and inclusion from Cornell University.