BA, Park College, 1982
MHA, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX, 1990
Ph.D., Univ. Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 1998
Program Director, Arts and Administration, H.E.B. School of Business
and Administration, Univ. Incarnate Word, San Antonio,TX, 2003 to present
Program Director, U.S. Army-Baylor Univ., Academy of Health Sciences,
Ft. Sam Houston, TX, 2001-2003
Dep. Dir., U.S. Army-Baylor Univ., Academy of Health Sciences, Ft. Sam Houston, TX,
1998-2001
OIC, Br. Med. Clinic, Bermuda, 1993-95
Dir. Admin., Nav. Med. Clinic, New Orleans, LA, 1990-93
Resident, Portsmouth NMC, Portsmouth, VA, 1989-90
Prior to leaving Corpus Christi I applied for a commission in the Medical Service Corps and was selected while in route to my next assignment at sea. My first position as a Navy Ensign was at the Naval Hospital Long Beach where I served first in the Materials Management Division and then the Information Management Department. My next assignment was at the Naval Hospital Philadelphia where I became the Head of the Management Information Department. It was near the end of that tour that I reached what would be a critical juncture in my professional career.
I had been offered a seat in the Information Systems Management Masters Program at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterrey California and was excited to begin my studies there. However, my supervisor and mentor, Captain John Gallis, the Director for Administration at the hospital, argued compellingly that I should pursue the Director for Administration, Executive Officer, Commanding Officer career track versus a computer systems management track. As such, I would require a MHA degree versus a specialty Masters. I was convinced, and submitted my application for Full-time education to attend graduate school at Temple University in Philadelphia, having not heard of the Army-Baylor MHA program at that time.
To make a long story short, I was selected to attend graduate education however, I was given only one option-attend Army-Baylor or move on to a recruiting assignment in Atlanta. Quickly I did my homework on the Baylor program and found that it did not require extended trips in to the woods or desert as I had feared nor did it require the pitching of a single tent! In fact, I found that it was a rigorous academic program, highly regarded by the Navy, and that I should consider myself fortunate to have been selected to attend. While not completely convinced of its value to a Naval healthcare administrator, and with some trepidation due to reports of the grueling pace of study, I accepted the nomination and matriculated in 1988.
Our year at Baylor-it is at this point that I specifically and most intentionally include my family in this narration (which by now had increased to include three children)-was one of the most challenging of our lives. Neither before, nor since, have I allowed my days to be so consumed by an endeavor. So demanding was the program and so poor my time management skills, that when selected for Doctoral training in 1995 my oldest son Dan, who was then 12, asked with some apprehension if this was going to be “another Baylor?” He had been age five during the didactic phase of the program and sadly, I had often neglected spending time with him during that year. This significant disappointment aside, I must say that attending Baylor changed the course of my professional life.
It was at Baylor that I came to know some of the finest military officers I have met in my career. Officers like LTC’s Darrell Hanf, and Brian Anselman who sat on my left and right respectively throughout the didactic year. Not only were we row-mates, but we also worked on numerous papers and projects together-I learned much from both of them and consider them good friends to this day. Officers like COL Tim Williamson and MAJ Roger Miller, both of whom were articulate and passionate debaters whose arguments never ceased to stimulate and expand my own thinking and that of our professors! I have many fond memories of the class of 1990, the dry wit of LTC Tom Clines, the quiet shepherding of the class by our Executive Officer, MAJ Archie Summerlin, USAF. The firm direction of our class leader, COL Bea Coquilla, MC, the selfless service of LTC Howard May, MSC, our Boone Powell award recipient and a graduate of the Army-Baylor Physical Therapy Program. I could go on to name virtually the entire class, noting the positive effect each has had upon me both as a person and as an officer, however space will not allow it.
After completing the didactic phase of the program we moved from Fort Sam Houston to our residency site. I was truly blessed to have RADM Charles R. Loar, MSC, USN, the then Chief of the Navy’s Medical Service Corps, as my preceptor. A healthcare statesman and the consummate professional, Admiral Loar ensured that my residency at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, VA was comprehensive and meaningful. RADM Loar opened doors for me to spend time not only with the Air Force at Langley AFB and the Army at FT Eustis, but also the Veteran’s Administration in Hampton, as well as, the Tidewater Health and Sentara Health systems. His good name and the reputation of Baylor residents who had preceded me ensured that my residency experience was of the highest caliber.
Working with RADM Loar, who had previously precepted Baylor residents, also allowed me to begin work on what has become a life-long topic of interest-the study of leadership and leadership development. It was at the Admiral’s insistence that I pursued the study of the “Identification and Development of Leaders Within the Navy Medical Department” as my Graduate Management Project (GMP) topic. I will be forever indebted to him for starting me on this quest and also to CDR Bill Lambert, Army-Baylor’s first Navy Professor and my academic advisor, for expertly guiding me in my early reading within the field of leadership and for encouraging me throughout the GMP process. The GMP was very well received by RADM Loar, who incorporated the findings and recommendations, especially with regard to mentorship, into the Medical Service Corps strategic plan.
After successfully completing all requirements for graduation I was assigned to the Naval Medical Clinic New Orleans as the Director for Administration in 1990. I must note that my studies at Baylor prepared me well for that position and further, that I required every skill and competency learned to carry out the responsibilities of that demanding position.
In 1993 I was assigned to the Branch Medical Clinic Bermuda as the Officer in Charge and was clearly on the development track for command positions within the Navy Medical Department. It was at this point that my career took another significant shift, and again the shift would ultimately involve the Army-Baylor MHA program.
When considering career options in 1995 it was my wife Sam who suggested I apply for doctoral education. Earning a Ph.D. had never been a serious consideration prior to this point however, the notion of obtaining a doctorate and serving as a senior policy analyst within in the federal health system or possibly teaching at Baylor, held great appeal. Through a series of minor miracles, which I am truly convinced are the result of divine intervention, I was once again selected for Navy sponsored graduate education and began graduate studies at the University of Iowa in pursuit of a Ph.D. in the summer of 1995. It is interesting to note that I selected Iowa on the recommendation of LTC George Gisin, a graduate of both the Army-Baylor program and University of Iowa. Dr. Gisin, a past Army-Baylor Program Professor and Director, was a wonderful mentor through this process and remains a trusted advisor to this day.
While at Iowa it was my pleasure to work with Professor Samuel Levy whose interest in leadership informed and fueled my own. Also, I was truly blessed to work with Professor James Price, whose work in organizational commitment and turnover served as the basis for my doctoral dissertation. It is significant to report that I was one in a series of military Ph.D.’s who worked with both of these wonderful men while at Iowa, COL Joe Constable, COL Wayne Sorenson and COL Paul Brooke also completed their doctoral dissertations under their guidance.
Toward the end of my dissertation year I was called to discuss my post Ph.D. job assignment. I was fearful that I would be asked to fill a Ph.D. billet in Washington D.C., but was hoping that instead I would be assigned to the Army-Baylor program as a Professor. The conversation began in typical fashion with the “detailer” indicating that he had “such a deal for me!” To my surprise it was the Baylor program position that he was offering. I did my best to contain my excitement and “graciously” accepted the assignment.
I arrived at Baylor in August of 1998 as a freshly hooded Ph.D. with a Doctorate in Health Management and Policy. I began co-teaching Strategic Management with Dr. Chuck Wainright in January of the following year to the class of 2000. It is not an overstatement to say that the first year was very challenging and I often wondered whether I would survive the teaching experience. However, I had wonderful mentors, to include Dr. Jody Rogers who provided great insight and advice throughout my time at Baylor, especially during that critical first year. There are three other individuals who not only assisted me personally, but have had crucial, and significant roles in, and influence upon the Baylor program, COL Dick Harder, LTC Brett Walker and Dr. Dave Mangelsdorff. All three personify commitment and loyalty and have done much, over many years, to strengthen our program. We who are graduates of this program owe them much.
In June of 1999 I became the Deputy Director of the Program and in June 2001 I became the first non-Army Director in the program’s 50-year history. It is now September 2003, I have completed my fifth year with the program, have turned over the reins to my friend and colleague LTC Shonna Mulkey, and will retire from the military by the year’s end. I believe in this program and more importantly in the health care professionals it produces. The Army-Baylor program has a legacy of preparing exceptionally committed and competent leaders for service within the federal healthcare system. It has been my privilege to contribute to this legacy by being a part of an exceptionally gifted and committed faculty for the past five years. Without question, my time at Baylor has been the most rewarding and significant of my 30 year military career and I am most thankful for having been given the opportunity to serve my country by educating the next generation of federal health care leaders.