UofM SPH Establishes Inaugural Dean’s Healthcare Leadership Community Advisory Group
September 8, 2025 - During the week of September 8, 2025, the University of Memphis School of Public Health (SPH) kicked off the inaugural Dean’s Healthcare Leadership Community Advisory Group meeting. This meeting brought together healthcare leaders whose expertise, experience, and leadership will help provide input about the essential skills, knowledge and competencies that students should possess through their current academic program offerings, particularly the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program, housed within the Division of Health Systems Management and Policy.
Dean Joshi shared the significant progress made by SPH over the last 3 years. These notable achievements include a 19% increase in student enrollment, a remarkable growth in research funding from $2 million to $27 million, a doubling of faculty hires, expanded student scholarship opportunities, the creation of new research centers, implementation of a national model for public health education in high schools and creation of the nation’s first Public Health Diplomacy Lab. These achievements—driven by the SPH leadership’s forward-thinking vision—have helped position the school as a national and international leader through its innovative programs, local, national and global partnerships, public health diplomacy efforts and high school outreach initiatives.
The School of Public Health has established robust community partnerships and due to its impact in the community - and the support of its SPH community partners - SPH was recognized as the 2024 recipient of the ASPPH Harrison C. Spencer Award for outstanding community service.
Dean Joshi shared, “I always emphasize the reasons why I moved from New York to Memphis. First, it’s a calling, a mission, and a commitment. Second, I saw how the School of Public Health could become a social and economic health engine for the city of Memphis—allowing us to create broader community impact.”
The School of Public Health is committed to strengthening its partnerships and gathering stakeholder feedback to enhance academic excellence, research and community engagement.
The Advisory Group identified a list of Action Items that serve as a key takeaway from the meeting. The action items are as follows:
- Establish healthcare leadership series where healthcare leaders and practitioners can engage with the students and faculty to better understand the employer's needs and the paradigm shift that is happening in the healthcare field.
- Leverage the expertise of the Advisory Group to identify and recommend relevant topics and speakers for the series, ensuring that real-world, current industry trends and challenges are integrated into the curriculum.
- Increase student exposure to non-traditional healthcare roles and organizations, emphasizing opportunities beyond hospitals—such as startups, data analytics, informatics, and consulting.
- Develop more experiential learning opportunities
- Strengthen the alumni network
- Organize and host events in Memphis to bring together students, alumni, and external partners, showcasing the city and strengthening the program’s reputation and recruitment efforts.
(L-R) Christopher Jenkins, MHA, Chief Operating Officer, St. Francis Health – Memphis, Nathalie Occean, MHA, Chief Operating Officer, MedHaul, Douglas Scarboro, MBA, MHA, Ed.D., Senior Vice President and Regional Executive of the Memphis Branch, Laurie Shanderson, PhD, FACHE, President & CEO, Accreditation Insights, Ashish Joshi, Ph.D., MBBS, MPH, Dean and Distinguished University Professor, University of Memphis School of Public Health, Sarah Gaskell, MPH, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Dale Sanders, DO, DHA, MBA, Interim Division Director, MHA Program Director and Professor, Division of Health Systems Management and Policy, University of Memphis School of Public Health
(R to L) Brad Parson, MHA, Vice President of Administration at Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporate Office (BMHCC) and Dr. Ashish Joshi, Dean and Distinguished University Professor of the University of Memphis School of Public Health