Teaching Excellence Awards

The Prizes and Their Purpose

AUPHA’s Teaching Excellence Awards seek to recognize faculty from AUPHA member programs who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments at the undergraduate, masters, or doctoral level. Established in 2021, the Awards annually honor faculty who frequently engage with AUPHA and demonstrate teaching excellence within various disciplines that inspire and advance other faculty within AUPHA and beyond.

Nominations are accepted for the following Awards each year, typically in the spring:

  • Teaching Excellence Award for Cultural Perspectives and Inclusive Excellence
  • Teaching Excellence Award for Healthcare Management and Leadership
  • Teaching Excellence Award for Health Policy
  • Teaching Excellence Award for Practice Management and Ambulatory Care
  • New in 2025! Teaching Excellence Award for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care


ELIGIBILITY

  • Nominee must have a formal faculty appointment in an AUPHA Full or Associate Member Program and must be responsible as the instructor-of-record for at least one course in the area for which they are being nominated.
  • Nominee must have five or more years of teaching experience in health administration and policy. No more than one year of teaching as a graduate student (identified as the instructor of record) may be used to count towards the five needed.
  • The nominee must be teaching in the academic year in which they are nominated.
  • Past awardees may not be nominated again in the area for which they have already been recognized.
  • Nominees must be active and engaged members of AUPHA. Anyone with at least one year of membership in the association is eligible. An individual's engagement in AUPHA may be demonstrated through any of the following:
    • Attendance at AUPHA's Annual Meeting, Academic Program and Practitioner Workshop, or HIMSS Academic Forum
    • Participation in Art of Teaching Institute courses, with preference given to those who have completed the Certificate for Teaching in Healthcare Management
    • Membership and active participation in the Faculty Forum or AUPHA Network discussion group relevant to the teaching award for which the individual has been nominated
    • Service to the association or field through membership on the AUPHA Board of Directors or committees, and/or assistance in drafting AUPHA resources (BOK & CG, Practitioner Scholar Guide, etc.)

        Application/Nomination

        The deadline for nominations for 2025 Teaching Excellence Awards is Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific

        Teaching Excellence Award Application/Nomination Form

        NOMINATION PROCESS

        During the open call for nominations, faculty can self-nominate or be nominated by any other full-time faculty member from their program or the AUPHA membership.

        The nominations package consists of the following:

        1. Current Curriculum Vitae
        2. A philosophy statement (written by the nominee) that articulates the nominee’s teaching philosophy and teaching methods to achieve their educational goals.
        3. Applicant (or nominator) statement, outlining how the nominee has fulfilled the award criteria, which includes:
          1. A reference to the teaching practices that best represent their contribution to excellence in teaching.
          2. Evidence of contributions to the practice and art of teaching to the academy.
          3. An explanation (including examples) of the nominee's engagement in AUPHA (this could be over the past year or over the course of several years).
        4. A letter of recommendation from a colleague with knowledge of the nominee's teaching excellence. This letter can come from a peer, the Program Director, Chair, Associate Academic/Education Dean, or Dean of the program where the nominee teaches full-time. Only one letter of recommendation from a colleague will be reviewed by the Teaching Excellence Awards Committee.
        5. A completed nomination form from a past student who graduated within the past five years. Only one student submission will be evaluated per nominee. The selected student nominator should complete their form here.

        Prize Winners

        The 2024 Teaching Excellence Award recipients are as follows:

        Teaching Excellence Award for Health Policy

        Sponsored by the American Hospital Association (AHA)

        - Jean Abraham, PhD, University of Minnesota

        Teaching Excellence Award for Healthcare Management and Leadership
        Sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)

        - Christopher Louis, PhD, MHA, Boston University

        Teaching Excellence Award for Ambulatory Care and Practice Management
        Sponsored by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)

        - Mark Bittle, DrPH, MBA, FACHE, Johns Hopkins University