The University of Miami recently announced the appointment of Dr. Barbara Kahn as the new Dean of the School of Business. Dean Kahn comes to us from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where she served as a world renowned Professor of Marketing and Consumer Choice and Vice Dean. Following a strategic assessment of resources and needs, Dean Kahn has announced that one of her major priority areas for the School of Business is Health Administration and Health Care Policy. Dr. Steven G. Ullmann, a highly respected Professor of Health Care Management and Health Care Economics, has been named Director of Programs in Health Administration. The University of Miami has immediately begun to invest in development of its offerings to meet the needs of its current and future students and the health care community.
The Schools Executive MBA Program in Health Administration, its high level program for individuals in positions of significant responsibility, remains the cornerstone of the Health Administration Program. The program, taught in an intensive three day weekend format (one weekend per month), is one of only five programs in the United States that holds dual accreditation: accreditation in business (AACSB) and accreditation in health administration (CAHME). The program has a reputation for having trained many of the senior level executives at hospitals, health care insurance companies, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, as well as physicians, nurses, and health care entrepreneurs both locally, as well as at the national and international level.
The Health Administration Program is currently undertaking a significant expansion of its program offerings. The School of Business, in conjunction with the School of Medicine, is about to launch a new joint MD/MBA degree program. With the increased recognition that the practice of medicine cannot be undertaken independent of the understanding of business, the program will allow medical students to receive their MBA as well as a Certification in Health Administration with only one additional year of study. This program will begin to be offered in the fall semester of 2008.
For those who find that the MBA is more business education than is really required or desired, the Programs in Health Administration will be offering a new four course Certification Program in Health Administration. The target audience for this Certification Program will be those who find themselves working in the health care sector who trained in other fields, as well as those with clinical backgrounds who find themselves in positions requiring administrative knowledge and understanding. The Certification Program will also be offered to those seeking the MD degree who find that a full MBA is not what they wish to attain. Further, the Certificate will be offered to those seeking a Masters or Doctorate degree in health care related fields.
In addition to credit offerings, the Health Administration Program is establishing a set of short courses and non-credit Certificate programs that will meet the special needs of health care organizations in the community. From Service Marketing to Six Sigma, the Program will be assessing needs in the Community and will develop tailor made courses and programs to meet those needs. Programs are also being developed for health care facilities and organizations in the Caribbean and Latin America.
This is a very exciting time in health care and a very exciting time in the Program. The faculty who will be participating are those who have research and consulting experience in the field and will be able to bring their cutting edge research and experience into the classroom environment.
