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.)

        Prize Winners

        The 2025 Teaching Excellence Award recipients are as follows:

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

        - Natalia Rekhter, PhD, MHSA, Governors State University

        Teaching Excellence Award in Cultural Perspectives and Inclusive Excellence
        Sponsored by the “Better Together” Collaborative – the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE); the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (AHA’s IFDHE); the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE); the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE); and AUPHA

        - Leandra Celaya, MSc, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

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

        - Debra Zevallos, DBH, MHA, FACHE, University of Cincinnati

        - Geoffrey Silvera, PhD, MHA, The University of Alabama at Birmingham


        Teaching Excellence Award for Health Policy
        Sponsored by the American Hospital Association (AHA)

        - Jillian Harrington, EdD, MS, University of Central Florida

        Teaching Excellence Award in Post-Acute, Long-Term Care
        Sponsored by the Post-Acute Leadership Institute (PALI)

        - Amy Dore, DHA, Metropolitan State University of Denver