Dear colleagues and friends:
Like you, my last six weeks have been filled with a mix of emotions - worry and concern; some fear for family, friends and colleagues; inspiration and awe of our medical and public health community, first responders, and fellow citizens who continue their work at essential businesses such as groceries and pharmacies; and, so much uncertainty. Through all of it, what I keep seeing, hearing, and experiencing, is how people have come together in this global crisis. We are better together, stronger together, and more resilient together. This pandemic has reinforced and made that crystal clear.
And for AUPHA specifically - coming together as colleagues, sharing and learning with and from each other, assuring all talent and experience is valued, and excluding no one in our collaborative efforts, gives us the breadth and depth of knowledge, experience and abilities to solve any problem. The diversity of our combined education, experience, talent and lives; the equity achieved by AUPHA truly being “the big tent” for health management and policy academic programs; and, the inclusion of everyone in our efforts, is THE path forward for improvement and innovation in health management and policy education and healthcare delivery.
At the close of my last (and first) column, I’d promised to share more regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), especially as it relates to my personal vision for AUPHA as your new CEO. My hope is that the guiding principles and goals inherent in a foundation of DEI will be reflected in everything we do at AUPHA - our mission, vision and values; governance and management; new strategic plan (that will be provided to you in July, for both input and opportunities to be involved); and, in all of our events and initiatives. What practical changes might this produce? For starters, there are three things I will advocate to our AUPHA Board. First, the renaming and orientation of the event we hold in conjunction with ACHE Congress in Chicago each March. We should plan and implement that meeting so that we embrace all of our AUPHA members - undergraduate and graduate programs. Perhaps “Academic Program and Practitioner Workshop” instead of “Graduate Program and Practitioner Workshop.” Why would we exclude, even in name, half of our talent, energy, and strength, as a community? Second, I will ask the Board to eliminate closed or exclusive sessions, receptions, or other events during our AUPHA annual meetings, from the time we “gavel in” until the meetings formally close. We would of course continue to make meeting space available to our AUPHA Corporate Partners (for example, ACHE) and partner organizations with whom we have formal written relationships (for example, CAHME’s update session for our AUPHA graduate member programs, which is also an open meeting). And third, even greater transparency in governance, leadership development, finances, operations, and assessment. Just a few ideas, for starters!
As I’ve begun my tenure as your CEO, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to meet (virtually, of course) with about 40 undergraduate and graduate member programs in my first six weeks. I started with some of the undergraduate programs since we needed to amend two of our AUPHA certification criteria quickly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following that, I’ve been making my way through our list of program sponsors (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) for the now Virtual 2020 Annual Meeting. If I haven’t met with your program, and you would like to schedule 15 to 30 minutes with me, please send me an email at dgentry@aupha.org. You can decide who else on your team to include.
These calls not only have provided me with valuable input regarding what else AUPHA can do for our membership during this unprecedented time, they have provided me with inspiration - reminders of why we all do what we do, why AUPHA is here (for our members and the amazing work you do!), and why I, by the end of a long search and recruitment process, desperately wanted this job!
Stay safe, healthy, and optimistic.
Warmest regards,
Dan