Terry Cline

Terry L. Cline
20th Oklahoma Commissioner of Health
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2009
Governor	Brad Henry
Preceded by	Michael Crutcher
Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
In office December, 2006 – August, 2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Charles Curie
Succeeded by	Pamela S. Hyde
Oklahoma Secretary of Health
In office 2004–2006
Governor	Brad Henry
Preceded by	Tom Adelson
Succeeded by	Michael Crutcher
Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
In office 2001–2006
Governor	Frank Keating Brad Henry
Succeeded by	Terri White
Personal details
Born	1958 Ardmore, Oklahoma
Alma mater	University of Oklahoma Oklahoma State University
Occupation	Doctor
Website	Oklahoma State Department of Health

Terry L. Cline (born 1958) is an American psychologist and public health policy specialist, and is currently the Oklahoma State Health Commissioner. From December 2006 through August 2008 he served as the administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the Health and Human Services Department (HHS). Dr. Cline had previously been State Mental Health Commissioner and State Secretary of Health in the state government of Oklahoma.

Early Career

Cline grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1980. He then received both a master’s degree and a Ph. D. in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University, following which he held a six year appointment as a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Cline also served as the Chairman of the Governing Board for a Harvard Community Teaching Hospital in Cambridge for several years.

Cline served as a Health Care Policy Fellow at the federal Center for Mental Health Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Washington D.C. While there, his primary focus was on the organization and financing of mental health services. During the 1990’s, he served as the Clinical Director of the Cambridge Youth Guidance Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was employed as a Staff Psychologist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Commissioner of Mental Health

Cline returned to Oklahoma to accept the position of Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in January 2001. Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry appointed Cline as Secretary of Health in 2004. From 2004 onward, Secretary Cline also served concurrently as Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

SAMSHA Administrator

President George W. Bush nominated Cline to head SAMSHA in November 2006, and his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December.

At the end of August 2008, Terry Cline became the HHS Department’s Health Attaché and representative at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

“Terry’s experiences as a caregiver, manager of State-level health systems and builder of strong collaborative relationships make him an excellent choice to help the U.S. government advise Iraq as it rebuilds its health care system,” Secretary Leavitt said. “I appreciate Terry’s commitment to improving health care globally, and welcome him to this important new role.”

As Health Attaché, Dr. Cline coordinated HHS programs in Iraq and provided advice to the U.S. ambassador, HHS Secretary and others. He also was a liaison to Iraq’s Ministries of Health, Higher Education and Social Affairs, and worked with international organizations, private partners and other U.S. government agencies engaged in health-related activities in Iraq.

State Health Commissioner

In June 2009 Dr. Cline became the Oklahoma State Health Commissioner. He replaced Dr. Michael Crutcher who had retired the previous January.