I am already looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Annual Meeting in San Diego, with the theme Future Fluent by Design. If you haven’t registered, did I mention the meeting is in San Diego? I’m particularly excited for the Pattullo Lecture and Panel, titled “Higher Education at a Crossroads: Breaking Point or Turning Point?”.
At our March meeting, the Board of Directors gave final approval to AUPHA’s new five-year strategic plan, AUPHA 2030. The key elements of the plan expand on AUPHA’s support for the field of health administration education, and the support of our member programs and their constituent leaders, faculty, and staff. Given the cutbacks many of our institutions are facing, the activities and resources under the new strategic plan will further increase the value of AUPHA membership.
Building on the successful launch of several role-specific groups, including program directors, practitioner faculty, and department chairs, we will build additional groups focused on supporting faculty and staff in different roles and at different career stages. We are also building on the successful Art of Teaching Institute and Leadership Academy programming to be the provider of choice for professional education. This programming targets health administration education in a way that campus-based programs do not. In addition, it provides an alternative as campus-based professional education programming is curtailed. The new strategic plan also has a significant “outward facing” element, aimed at increasing the visibility and understanding of the field of healthcare management education and the practice of healthcare management and leadership. These efforts, which go beyond the scope of what an individual program could do, would serve all member programs by growing the pool of future students in healthcare management undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, and growing the talent pipeline for the future healthcare management and health policy academy.
It has been an honor serving as AUPHA’s board chair for the past year. Despite the uncertainties and stresses facing higher education, I have renewed optimism for our shared future as a field.
Richard Hirth, PhD
AUPHA Board Chair