July 18, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: John Hutto, Public and Legislative Affairs
(803) 898-8584
JHH35@scdmh.org
Magill Accepts Top Post at Mental Health
Columbia, SC – Today at its monthly meeting, the South Carolina Mental Health Commission offered to John H. Magill the position of state director, Department of Mental Health. He is expected to begin September 1, after approvals by the Agency Head Salary Commission and the South Carolina Budget & Control Board, which meet August 1 and August 8, respectively.
Said Dr. Alison Evans, Mental Health Commission chair, “The Department of Mental Health and its clients are fortunate to have an executive with Mr. Magill’s breadth of experience. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated strong administrative skills as well as compassion for people with mental illness and people with chemical dependency. We believe that he is the right person for the Department of Mental Health and look forward to working with him.”
The South Carolina Department of Mental Health provides services through a network of seventeen mental health centers, Harris Psychiatric Hospital in Anderson, SC, the Columbia Behavioral Healthcare System in Columbia, SC, and three nursing centers, including two for veterans. (End)
State Director John H. Magill
South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Biography updated October 20, 2011
- Began work at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health in the late 1960’s.
- Served as Assistant Director of the Georgia Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and in 1977; became the Georgia State Director for Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fenwick Hall Hospital, Johns Island, South Carolina, for 17 years.
- Served as Deputy Chair of Operations in the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina; continues as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.
- Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of South Carolina Department of Neuropsychiatry since 2006.
- State Director of the South Carolina Department of Mental Health since September 1, 2006.
- Awarded the Order of the Palmetto, January 6, 2011.
- Awarded the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Dean’s Distinguished Service Award, October 12, 2011.
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