Looking Back on the Summer

Even though September 22nd is still a couple weeks away, with the fall semester now several weeks in and Labor Day behind us, we now look at summer in the rearview mirror.  Some may think of summertime as a period of rest and relaxation for both students and those working at universities, but for the HCAD program, that's certainly not the case; this past summer was a busy and active one.  Here's a glimpse of what we were up to:

• Both the Executive and On-Campus programs continued their work during the summer semester, lasting roughly from mid-May through early July.
• Sharon Hubenak, the Director of Recruitment and Residencies, was active finalizing the recruits for the On-Campus and Executive Classes of 2018, helping prepare for the new students' arrival with various administrative and admissions details, finalizing the residency placement process for the On-Campus Class of 2017, and planning for the next academic year's recruiting efforts as well as visiting with prospective students who are interested in the program.
• Dr. Mary Stefl's summer included participation at the annual meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, this year in Kansas City, Missouri, where she presented a poster titled, "Pursuing the vision: Strategies integrating practice and academia in health administration."  She also maintained an active travel schedule during the summer, visiting with friends of the program in her work as Director for the Center for Leadership Development in Health Management.

• Dr. Jody Rogers maintained his busy travel schedule during the summer with a number of leadership workshops and presentations around the United States.  In May, Dr. Jody Rogers traveled to Union Hospital in Maryland to conduct a two-day management and leadership workshop to their Hospital Executive team, with over 50 executives in attendance.  That trip was followed by a presentation in early June to the 20th anniversary meeting in Washington, D.C. for the Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellowship, on the subject of "The Courage to Lead: Creating Operational Excellence in Healthcare Organizations."  This group consisted of 50 Harvard physicians from around the U.S., and their interest was in the role leaders play in creating a diverse workplace.  Dr. Rogers then conducted a "Masters Give Back" workshop for The Leadership Challenge in Nashville, which was a two-day pro-bono workshop designed to teach leadership to over 120 leaders of nonprofit organizations.
• Dr. Brad Beauvais spent much of his summer juggling efforts relating to his teaching, his research, his service, and his family.  Over the summer, Dr. Beauvais revised the Finance II course to consist of an entirely service- and case-based learning experience, developing five active cases with local health care providers.  His research efforts have included three articles accepted and pending publication in the Journal of Healthcare Management as well as the Journal of Health Administration Education, and he has three additional articles under review at well-respected academic journals.  He was also appointed as the Chair of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education's Standards Council, and he continues to serve on CAHME's Candidacy Committee as well.  Finally, Dr. Beauvais also found some time to work on his family ranch replacing the fencing across the property and spend time with his daughter who traveled to Atlanta and Tulsa to show her horse in over fences classes.
• Dr. Patrick Shay taught Managerial Epidemiology to the first-year class of Executive program students, and he also attended and had work presented at the Organizational Theory in Health Care conference in Nashville in June.  In August, Dr. Shay served as the session chair for a session on "Strategic Behavior of Healthcare Organizations" at the Academy of Management's Annual Meeting in Anaheim, during which he was also appointed to the Health Care Management Division's Teaching Committee.  Finally, his chapter, "Does Leadership Matter?" was published in the third edition of Leadership in Healthcare: Essential Values and Skills, published by Health Administration Press.
• Dr. Amer Kaissi taught Health Care Human Resources as part of the On-Campus program's summer session.  In July, Dr. Kaissi - along with Dr. Ed Schumacher and Dr. Todd Thames - led a group of students and friends of the program on a 5-day study tour of the British healthcare system.  In addition, Dr. Kaissi continued throughout the summer to work on his upcoming leadership book, addressing the relationship between compassion and humility and the effectiveness of leaders in healthcare.

• Dr. Ed Schumacher taught Information Systems for Health Care Administration to the On-Campus program students during the summer semester, and he also participated in the Department's trip to London.  Of course, the summer provides little time for rest for the Department Chair, as Dr. Schumacher continued his leadership and support of the Department, from administrative oversight to efforts in preparing new classes of students to helping guide the faculty and staff to look ahead towards another great year.

And just like that, the summer's gone.  With a busy summer now behind us, we're all excited to see what the fall semester has in store for Trinity's HCAD graduate program...onward and upward!