Gathering as a Community: AUPHA’s Season of Meetings
AUPHA plans and hosts three key meetings each year: the AUPHA Academic Forum at HIMSS, the AUPHA Academic and Practitioner Workshop (APPW) at the ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership, and the AUPHA Annual Meeting. All squeezed into the first six months of the year each year!
AUPHA 2025 Academic Forum @ HIMSS
The 20th AUPHA Academic Forum at HIMSS25 took place March 3 in Las Vegas. The event brought together academic and healthcare professionals to explore the intersection of health administration, digital health, technology integration, and leadership in healthcare education. The Forum is always set against the backdrop of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Global Health Conference and Exhibition, a gathering of leaders from the healthcare and technology sectors. The goal is to help educators better align their programs with the evolving demands of the healthcare industry.
This year’s program did not disappoint. Led by co-chairs Shannon Houser of UAB and Cathy Flite of Temple University, the event set new records for number of abstracts received, number of presenters on the program, and attendees!
AUPHA’s 2025 APPW@ACHE Congress
The AUPHA Academic Program and Practitioner Workshop (APPW) will be held next week, Tuesday, March 25, in Houston, during the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership. This workshop will foster collaboration between academic professionals and healthcare practitioners, allowing them to share best practices and discuss the challenges faced in healthcare management education. The event aims to strengthen the link between academia and real-world healthcare leadership, ensuring students gain the skills needed to thrive in the healthcare field.
This year, the APPW begins with our joint ACHE/AUPHA breakfast keynote address “Leading Through External and Internal Turmoil,” by Joanne M. Conroy, MD, President and CEO of Dartmouth Health. Breakfast is followed by two AUPHA panels, focused on the theme of “The Human Element in the Digital Age: Reinforcing Essential Skills in Healthcare Management.” The first panel will emphasize industry perspectives and expectations of graduates, and the second on implications for academic programs, both with an orientation toward change and improvement.
2025 AUPHA Annual Meeting
The 2025 AUPHA Annual Meeting, AUPHA’s signature event, will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio, June 17-19, with an expected crowd of 300+ members of the healthcare management academy. With the theme “A Compass for Change: Core Values in Healthcare Management Education,” this meeting will feature educational, deep dive, and conversation and collaboration sessions, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities - all centered on the pursuit of excellence in healthcare management education. The meeting will focus on integrating core values such as leadership and innovation into academic curricula while fostering collaboration among graduate and undergraduate faculty to advance the quality and relevance of healthcare management education. Once again, the best of the best abstracts were selected through blind peer-review; however, this year, by redesigning the Annual Meeting schedule and integrating several general sessions, we were able to accept slightly less than 50% of submitted abstracts, the most ever!
Keynote speakers for the Annual Meeting include Joseph Betancourt, MD, President and CEO of The Commonwealth Fund (virtual keynote prior to convening in Columbus); AUPHA 2025 Pattullo Lecturer Michael Dowling, MSW, President and CEO of Northwell Health; Eric Conley, MHA, Executive Vice President of Sentara Health; and Baxter International Foundation Graham Prize recipient for 2025, Kate Baicker, PhD, Provost of the University of Chicago.
In addition to the formal program Tuesday morning through Thursday morning, June 17-19, there will be opportunities to take AUPHA Art of Teaching (ATI) and Leadership Academy (LA) courses Monday afternoon, June 16 and Thursday afternoon, June 19; a community volunteer activity or hard-hat tour of The Ohio State University’s new hospital tower at Wexner Medical Center Monday afternoon; and an off-site social event Thursday.
While it’s always great to convene community in any manner or mode, there is something very special about being together in the same locale at the same time. I hope you’ll be able to join AUPHA and so many of your fellow colleagues at either or both the APPW next week in Houston or the Annual Meeting June 17-19 in Columbus. And if not, there’s always next year - so start planning now!
Warmly,
Dan
Dan Gentry, PhD, MHA
President and CEO