Trinity University Health Care Professor Recognized for Outstanding Teaching and Leadership

SAN ANTONIO - Mary E. Stefl, professor and chair of the health care administration department at Trinity University, has been awarded a prestigious prize for significant contributions to the field of health care education by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA.)

Professor Stefl was given the 2004 AUPHA Filerman Prize during the organization's annual meeting in early June in San Diego. The prize was established in honor of Gary L. Filerman, the association's first president, in recognition of his many years of service to the group. The prize recognizes an educator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of health administration education, exhibited leadership in the field, and enriched the institution where he or she teaches.

Professor Stefl has been at Trinity since 1984 and has taught courses covering quality management, community health assessment, and program evaluation. As department chair, she is responsible for all aspects of curriculum design, student recruitment activities, oversight of the admissions process, and working with the Health Care Alumni Association. In addition to her departmental duties, Professor Stefl was dean of the division of behavioral and administrative studies at Trinity from 1994 to 2001.

She received her bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati. Before joining the Trinity faculty, she taught in the University of Cincinnati's program in community health planning and administration. She has published articles on topics ranging from community mental health needs assessment to leadership qualities in healthcare executives.

Professor Stefl also has held leadership roles in the health administration education community. She served as chair of the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration and was editor of Frontiers of Health Services Administration, a quarterly journal for health care executives, from 1995 to 2001.

The association is a consortium of the world's primary health services management education and research development resources. Members include universities, training centers, national institutes, hospitals, and other health services delivery facilities as well as faculty and individual members from throughout the world.

Trinity University, founded in 1869, is one of the nation's top private undergraduate institutions. Noted for its superior academic quality, outstanding faculty, and exceptional academic and residential resources, Trinity is committed to the intellectual, civic, and professional preparation of its students.

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© 2006 Trinity University