History of the Graduate Program in Hospital Administration

The Graduate Program in Hospital Administration (GPHA), once housed at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, holds a significant place in the history of healthcare administration. The GPHA was the first program of its kind in the world when it was created in 1934. Born out of a need for formal training in hospital management, the GPHA emerged in response to the growing recognition that hospital administrators at that time lacked the necessary skills to effectively manage increasingly complex healthcare institutions.

, a pioneer of medical care in the United States, spearheaded the creation of the GPHA to address this critical gap. He recognized that hospital leaders were overly focused on day-to-day operations and lacked strategic vision in key areas like human relations, financial management, and organizational leadership.

Davis had dedicated his career to addressing social issues that affected the health of immigrants and low-income communities. His work at institutions like the Boston Dispensary and the Rockefeller Foundation shaped his vision for improving healthcare delivery and administration. As director of medical services at the Julius Rosenwald Fund, he played a key role in establishing the Blue Cross system, revolutionizing hospital cost repayment.

Through the GPHA, Davis not only reshaped hospital administration education, but also influenced the development of similar initiatives at universities across the country.

The Rise of Residencies

The initial structure of the GPHA combined academic training in both general management and healthcare administration. This dual focus set the program apart and helped to produce a new generation of well-rounded, capable hospital administrators. It was one of the first formal efforts to equip students with business skills that were relevant to healthcare.

During its early years, the program was small. Between 1934 and 1937, a total of 19 students were admitted: five in 1934, eight in 1935, and six in 1937. This measured growth reflected the program’s focused approach, which prioritized hands-on learning and personal mentorship.

In its original design, the program followed a model that would become standard for similar initiatives: one year of academic coursework followed by a year-long residency at a hospital. This residency model allowed students to gain practical, real-world experience that complemented their classroom learning.

Today, many graduate students in business, health administration, medicine, and related fields apply for residencies or internships through health administration fellowships. These fellowships are offered at health systems around the country, including , , , and more. At Chicago Booth, the Tolan Center for Healthcare offers the Healthcare Fellowship to select graduate students.

鈥淕eisinger offers a one-of-a-kind internship for students with both medical and business backgrounds. The program is directly sponsored by the CEO and chief medical officer, offering one-of-a-kind exposure to senior leadership. During the internship, I was able to work with and learn from 20+ of the most senior leaders of the organization, from the chairman of psychiatry to the chief scientific officer.鈥�

— Armaan Singh, Healthcare Fellow

The success of the GPHA inspired the creation of similar programs across the country. Within 30 years of the program’s founding, 15 other universities had adopted this model for their own hospital administration programs. By the 1990s, there were more than 50 graduate programs in hospital administration operating nationwide.

Tom Barry, ’76, recalls, “The primary reason I joined Chicago’s MBA class of 1976, rather than consider other business schools, was its longstanding dominance among MBA programs in healthcare education. I moved to Manhattan during my second year to become the third member of the first healthcare group at an investment banking firm.”

The Evolution of the GPHA

One of the program’s most influential leaders was George Bugbee, who served as director from 1962 to 1970. Bugbee had been director of UChicago’s Health Information Foundation (HIF), which was originally founded by the pharmaceutical industry as an independent, nonprofit research center to study social and economic issues in healthcare. Under Bugbee’s leadership, HIF combined with the GPHA in 1962 as the (CHAS).

Bugbee had a distinguished career in healthcare, having led the from 1943 to 1954, becoming the first non-physician to hold the position. He was also instrumental in the passage of the Hill-Burton Act in 1946, which provided federal funding for the construction of hospitals following World War II and the Great Depression. Bugbee’s leadership brought additional prestige to the GPHA, and during his tenure, the program continued to flourish.

In 1990, CHAS moved from Chicago Booth to what is now the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, where it hosts the interdisciplinary to explore the intersection of health policy and the broad needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.

CHAS also served as the academic home for a number of business PhD alumni who went on to have distinguished careers. Several have been acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to healthcare as elected members of the : Duncan Neuhauser, PhD ’71, former professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University; Chuck Phelps, PhD ’73, former provost at the University of Rochester; William Richardson, MBA ’64, PhD ’71, former president of Johns Hopkins University and the WK Kellogg Foundation; and Stephen Shortell, MBA ’71, PhD ’72, professor emeritus of the Haas School of Business and dean emeritus of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

A Lasting Impact on Healthcare

Although the Graduate Program in Hospital Administration no longer exists in its original form, its legacy continues to help shape programs at Booth, from the CHAS to the Healthcare Initiative. It also laid the groundwork for the MBA concentration in healthcare, the MBA/MD and MBA/MS joint-degree programs, and the , which has expanded to include more emphasis on social service and public policy while bringing together students from graduate schools across the university.

With over 550 alumni, the GPHA has also left a profound impact on the field of healthcare administration. One of its most noteworthy graduates is Everett V. Fox. He was an active advisor to several significant healthcare institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, the United Hospital Fund of New York, and the US Public Health Services. He also founded the National Association of Health Service Executives (NAHSE) to increase African American participation in the healthcare industry. His name continues to be honored in the NAHSE’s annual , which provides opportunities for students to analyze real challenges facing healthcare organizations.

Many of Fox’s fellow GPHA alumni across generations have also risen to leadership roles in healthcare, with a third serving as senior executives or CEOs, and another third holding senior administrative positions such as vice president, executive vice president, and COO.

Decades after GPHA’s founding, Booth alumni and students continue to honor the program’s legacy, playing a pivotal role in shaping healthcare institutions by driving innovation in hospital management, financial planning, and strategic leadership. They acknowledge the necessary link between business disciplines and healthcare delivery as they work to transform the industry to benefit all.

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