Executive Director's Letter
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
Developing servant leaders for healthcare has always been the touchstone of the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership and the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program. We look first to Jesus as our prime example of caring, compassionate and other-centered leadership. And thankfully, we have many other examples of those who embody this leadership ethos among our faculty, staff, students, alumni, preceptors and Advisory Council members.
Our 2024 Stakeholder Report highlights several of these servant leaders. Our feature story showcases our executive-in-residence, Joel Allison, former president and CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health and former chairman of the Baylor University Board of Regents. With more than four decades of health care management, Joel now devotes his time to developing the next generation of servant leaders for healthcare. In addition to coaching and advising faculty, students and staff, Joel leads our Executive Leadership Speaker Series which brings leading practitioners into the classroom to share hard-earned leadership lessons and updates on the changing healthcare landscape.
Another example of servant leadership is Cherise Bridgwater, our director of Accreditations and Operations, who, in addition to serving in this role, teaches our Health Finance course, advises students and serves as both a Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management (CAHME) certified fellow and Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) fellow. As a testament to her outstanding service to the profession, Cherise was named the inaugural winner of the CAHME/Dr. Dolores Clement Fellow of the Year.
We continue to draw top students into our program who are called to serve in administration or as clinicians as interest and enrollment in both our administrative residency and pre-clinical tracks remain strong. Our students represented themselves and our program well in national competitions with first-place finishes in The Ohio State First-Year Health Administration Case Competition, the Gulf Coast MGMA Annual Case Competition and the Richard J. Stull Student Essay Competition in Healthcare Management. Residency placements also remain strong with the addition of several new residency partners. Our graduates continue to secure top placements at leading healthcare organizations. And, our Robbins Healthcare Alumni Group continues to gain momentum under the leadership of George Terrazas, MBA ’05, Kara Abrameit, MBA ’06 and Darrell Leggett, MBA ’19.
Other Institute and Program highlights include our third international trip, our CAHME reaccreditation site visit and our endowment campaign. Our students expanded their cultural competence and knowledge of international health systems through global health immersions in Barcelona (Class of 2024/2025) and Berlin (Class of 2025/2026). Last fall, the program underwent its CAHME reaccreditation site visit and earned a perfect score. This accreditation performance marks the Robbins Healthcare MBA as only one of four programs in CAHME’s 56-year history to achieve a perfect score and the first healthcare MBA to do so. Lastly, this past year marked progress in our endowment campaign with close to $500,000 raised.
Perhaps the biggest news to share is that after 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force and 23 years at Baylor University, Scott Garner will be retiring at the end of July 2025. Scott has had a profound impact on U.S. healthcare delivery. He first served as a Medical Service Corps officer in leadership roles throughout the nation and abroad providing care to service members, their families and retirees. After retiring from the Air Force in 2001, Scott turned his time and attention to investing in future healthcare leaders by establishing the Robbins Healthcare MBA and Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership. He has left an indelible imprint on every one of our 265 graduates. But those that worry about the end of an era, should not fear. Future students will continue to benefit from Scott – and his countless stories – as he transitions to a part-time role in the program upon retirement.
In closing, the Robbins Institute faculty and staff thank each of you for your tremendous support. We look forward to your continued partnership as we develop the next generation of servant leaders for healthcare.
Best,
Forest Kim, PhD
Executive Director, Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership
