A conversation with Regent Penny Wheeler, MD
Tue, May 20, 2025, at 11am
Penny Wheeler, MD
Allina Health chief executive officer, retired
Midland Hills
University of Minnesota Regent Penny Wheeler, MD, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and recently retired chief executive officer of Allina Health, will be the featured guest for the UMRA luncheon forum on Tuesday, May 20, at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville.
With her undergraduate degree, medical degree, and residency completed at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Wheeler is a proud “triple Gopher.”
A resident of Orono, she was elected to an at-large seat on the Board of Regents in 2023. She chairs the Academic Health Committee (AHC) which, in December 2024, was designated a standing committee of the Board.
In place of the usual speech format for UMRA forums, Regent Wheeler will be interviewed by UMRA member and liaison to the Board of Regents John Finnegan, professor and dean emeritus of the U of M School of Public Health. Topics for discussion are likely to include Wheeler’s Minnesota roots and education; the Regents' 2025 priorities, especially in health and the AHC; and the impact on the University of the Trump administration's policies and bullying.
This experiment with a different format is intended to be more interactive in engaging the audience in discussion with our guest. So, please come with your questions!
Wheeler has been recognized by Modern Health Care magazine as a “Luminary” for her multiple appearances on their Top 25 Women Leaders in Health Care list. Prior to her appointment as CEO of Allina in 2015, she served as president and chief clinical officer. A self-described “accidental CEO,” Wheeler was the first physician and first woman to lead the organization.
The program will start at noon. It will be preceded by UMRA’s 2025 Annual Meeting, when we will welcome UMRA’s new leadership and thank outgoing President Julie Sweitzer.
Sign ups for this event are through the new member portal -- be sure to create your login before you try to sign up for this event. Don't have the email? Search for an email from [email protected]. It may have gone to your spam folder.
Make your reservation and prepay for the luncheon forum at Midland Hills on May 20. Check-in begins at 10:30 a.m. and the buffet luncheon at 11 a.m.
—John Finnegan, UMRA liaison to the Board of Regents and Program Committee member
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