The AUPHA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of the University of Michigan’s John (Jack) Wheeler, PhD, Professor of the Department of Health Management and Policy, as the 2012 recipient of the Filerman Prize for Educational Leadership. He will be awarded the Prize during the AUPHA annual meeting on Friday, June 1, in Minneapolis, MN.
The Filerman Prize was established to honor AUPHA’s first president, Gary L. Filerman, PhD, for his many years of service to the Association and healthcare management education. The Prize recipients are from AUPHA member programs, and are individuals who have made notable contributions to the field of healthcare management education, have exhibited leadership in the field, and have enriched their institutions, their students, and healthcare management education through their work.
Dr. Wheeler was nominated by Kyle Grazier, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Michigan, and by Dean Smith, PhD, Professor at the University of Michigan. In her nomination, Dr. Grazier says, “[Dr. Wheeler] has had an enormous impact on the field, through his teaching and interaction with thousands of students in classrooms across the country, through his active leadership in PhD-level training in the area of healthcare finance, through his academic leadership, through his service contributions to AUPHA and other organizations, through his thoughtful engagement with and contributions to practice, and through his high-quality, rigorous, award-winning research.”
Jack Wheeler earned his PhD in Economics and Medical Care Organizations at the University of Michigan. With the exception of a one-year stretch as Assistant Professor of Health Economics in the Sloan Program at Cornell University, Dr. Wheeler’s thirty-five year teaching career was spent in various positions at the University of Michigan, ranging from Associate Professor to Chair of Health Management and Policy. “Professor Wheeler has been instrumental in helping to lead and sustain the high level of achievement of Michigan’s health administration program,” remarks Dr. Smith. “Professor Wheeler was Department Chair from, 1991-1997, and 1993 was the first time that US News & World Report included rankings of programs in health administration. We attribute at least some of the success in the program’s reputation in the field to Professor Wheeler’s dedication to service at home and broadly to the field.” Dr. Grazier adds, “He is a major figure in the history of the department, shepherding it through reorganizations, hiring a number of successful faculty, launching a very successful executive master’s degree program, and helping to lead a very successful doctoral program. Jack has been a key leader in all department and school endeavors since joining Michigan’s faculty.” In addition to his appointment at the University of Michigan, Dr. Wheeler also taught in the executive programs at the University of Colorado Denver, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In addition to his leadership within the University of Michigan’s program, Dr. Wheeler also boasts an exceptional record of contributions to the field and to AUPHA, and was a key leader in the history of AUPHA. As Smith remarks, “Professor Wheeler has been an active participant in AUPHA’s faculty networks for over 30 years. During what some might recall as a critical time in AUPHA’s history, Professor Wheeler was a member of the Board of Directors (1994-99) and served as Chair of the Board (1998-1999). He is rightly remembered at AUPHA, just as he is at Michigan, for his high level of cooperation and integrity that enables working towards common goals.”
“As I near the end of my career in health finance teaching and research, I am honored to receive 2012 Filerman Prize,” says Dr. Wheeler of his selection. “AUPHA has supported the development of my career in health finance at Michigan. The Association has provided resources for curriculum development and a reference group of talented and generous colleagues and friends across the country. The relations enabled by AUPHA allowed me to extend my work into health executive education at Colorado and UAB, as well as at Michigan. In exchange, I am pleased to note that many of my former students serve on AUPHA program faculties across the country.”
Wheeler was selected as the 2012 Filerman Prize Winner by a selection committee chaired by Ross Baker, PhD of the University of Toronto. The Prize is administered by AUPHA with the generous support of the University of Minnesota’s Healthcare Alumni Associations/Foundation and the many friends of Dr. Filerman. Nominations for the Filerman Prize are made each year by individuals from AUPHA member programs or affiliate programs or by Individual members of the Association. For additional information on the nomination process or selection process, please see the AUPHA website at www.aupha.org > Products/Services > Recognition and Prizes.