On Feb. 20, 2018, the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program brought together alumni, current students and faculty members to celebrate 10 years of preparing the next generation of healthcare administration leaders.

Eric Larsen (MHA/MPH 2012), whose background was in science fields originally, graduated from the MHA program in 2012. He said that the scope of topics covered through the program was instrumental in preparing him for his career.

“Taking all of these business and finance classes, I was out of my realm, but that was a good thing,” Larsen said.

Natalie Gochnour, associate dean at the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, was the event’s keynote speaker. She addressed attendees about lessons learned in the times we live in. Her speech presented five unique five unique takeaways that students and alumni could benefit from:

1) We need more social cohesion.
2) Find the political middle.
3) Ask the right questions.
4) Find a dream larger than yourself and do it!
5) Let your feminine values shine.

“Great communities have great people, and it’s the responsibility of each of us to be engaged – to know the issues, to speak up, to listen, to support those who serve, to recognize that we are all part of a greater whole, and that we as students, alumni, faculty, administrators, to this great institution, have a responsibility to contribute to the greater good,” Gouchnour said.

Over the past 10 years, the MHA program has been preparing students to fulfill Gouchnour’s charge by making lasting, meaningful contributions to the greater good.

Following Gochnour’s speech, awards were presented to several alumni, staff and faculty:
MHA Alumni Distinguished Service Awards

• Greg Larsen, MHA/MBA 2014, for assistance with recruiting
• Coni Westmorland, MHA/MPH 2014, for assistance with fellowship panels
• Evan Day, MHA/MBA 2014, and Jared Schultz, MHA/MPH 2014, for leading the development of the MHA Alumni Association

MHA Distinguished Alumni

• Matt Ahearn, MHA/MBA 2008

MHA Distinguished Service Award

• Kathryn Adair, MHA Career Development and Employer Relations Manager

MHA Outstanding Faculty

• Joe Horton

MHA Distinguished Professor

• Scott Parker

The MHA program is one of the David Eccles School of Business specialized master degree programs. Offering both a full-time MHA option for students new to the industry and a Professional MHA option for those already working in healthcare, the program prepares graduates for a variety of jobs in healthcare and aims to train the next generation of healthcare leaders. Graduates take administrative positions in both the public and private sectors of the healthcare industry and work in a variety of fields, including healthcare delivery, public health, healthcare policy and health services research. With the class graduating in May 2018, the program will have 175 alumni that can be found across the US. MHA graduates have achieved 95%+ job placement during the program’s 10-year history.