Original story from AUPHA News
Christy Harris Lemak, PhD, FACHE, professor and chair, Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been named recipient of the 2022 Gary L. Filerman Prize for Educational Leadership.
The Filerman Prize, delivered by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, recognizes individuals from AUPHA member programs who have made outstanding contributions to the field of healthcare management education, who have exhibited leadership in their field, and who have enriched their institutions, their students, and healthcare management through their work.
Lemak was nominated by Heather Lee, MPH, director of operations for the UAB M.S. in Health Administration program.
“I can most enthusiastically say Christy is most deserving of this award as demonstrated by her extensive service to AUPHA, her commitment to her students, her mentoring to her peers, and her overall contribution to the healthcare educational system,” said Lynn Downs, PhD, Associate Professor, University of the Incarnate Word.
“Receiving the 2022 Filerman Prize is the most meaningful honor of my career. Dr. Filerman and many of the previous recipients have been my mentors, role models, co-authors, and friends,” said Lemak. “I am grateful for this recognition and, more importantly, to have been able to work with dedicated individuals – academic colleagues, industry executives and students – to improve health administration education in order to develop leaders who will change the world.”
Lemak leads a team of over 50 faculty and staff who are developing leaders to shape tomorrow’s health care. The Department offers ten degrees: health care leadership, health informatics, healthcare simulation, health services research, and healthcare quality and safety. The graduate program in health administration is in its 57th year.
Her teaching and research focuses on leadership and high performance in health care. She is currently working to develop organizations where all leaders can thrive. Under her leadership, UAB has developed several programs to support women and under-represented populations to become health care leaders, including the UAB Women in Healthcare Leadership initiative and the UAB Academy for Addressing Health Care Disparities through Health Care Leadership.
Lemak currently serves on the boards of Community Hospital Corporation (Plano, TX), the National Center for Healthcare Leadership, and the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. She was previously on the boards of the Commission on Accreditation of Health Management Education (CAHME), board chair of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and the Academy of Management Health Care Management Division.
She previously held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and the University of Florida. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan, MHA and MBA degrees from the University of Missouri and a BS from the University of Illinois.
