Faculty News
The VCU Department of Health Administration welcomed two new full time faculty in August.
Laura McClelland is finishing her PhD in organization and management at Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta. Her dissertation examines the relationship between hospital routines that foster compassion in the workplace and HCAHPS patient satisfaction ratings.
Ann Johnston, a 1990 MHA graduate, returns to VCU as the Director of Professional Development. She was previously Vice President of High Point Regional, High Point, NC. She will assist Dr. Dolores Clement with all aspects of the MHA residency experience, and will also teach in the program. Our new faculty profiles are available on our website www.had.vcu.edu.
Dr. Roice Luke will retire at the end of October. Dr. Luke has been part of the fabric of the Department of Health Administration since his arrival as chair in 1982. Among his many accomplishments was the creation of the MSHA program in 1988 with assistance of Dennis Pointer (now at the University of Washington). Dr. Luke presided over many classrooms, authored more than 60 books and papers, and touched the hearts and minds of many, many students in his years in HAD. His most recent publication, “Distributing High-Risk Cases within Urban Hospital Clusters" (which he co-authored with his son, Tyler, and former student, Nancy Muller) appeared in the September 2011 issue of Health Affairs.
Alumni News
Richard Bracken (MHA ‘77) was listed among Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” in its August 22, 2011 edition. Richard, Chairman and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America, appears as number 34 on this prestigious list.
Two HAD alumni, Carrie Owen Plietz (MHA '00) and Faraaz Yousef (MHA '97), are on the Modern Healthcare list of the 2011 Up and Comers. Ms.Plietz was also recently named CEO of the Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, CA.
Alan Dow, M.D.,(MSHA ’95), received the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation Faculty Scholar Award honoring faculty leaders dedicated to advancing education in medicine and nursing.
Bassam Kawwass (MHA ’80) was the recipient of a special ACHE achievement award honoring his many contributions to the healthcare community and to ACHE.
Tracy Kemp Stallings (MSHA ’95) was selected as the 2011 HAD Alumna of the Year. Ms. Stallings was also recently named as the Chair of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
Howard Kern (MHA ’81) was appointed to serve on the Service Delivery and Payment Reform Task Force of the Virginia health Reform Initiative Advisory Council. Mr. Kern is President of Sentara Healthcare.
Jeff Harrison (PhD ’02) was promoted to Chair of the Department of Public Health at the University of North Florida.
Mei Zhao (PhD ’04) was promoted to Director of the MHA program at the University of North Florida.
Preethy Nayar (PhD ’07) has become Director of Doctoral Programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health.