CHS’ Sarah Kercsmar, PhD, MHA, Named AUPHA’s 2025 John D. Thompson Prize Recipient
Washington, D.C. – Sarah Kercsmar, PhD, MHA, Associate Professor and Department Chair for the University of Kentucky’s Department of Health and Clinical Sciences in the College of Health Sciences, has been named the recipient of the John D. Thompson Prize.
The Prize recognizes a faculty member from a Full Member Program of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), based on their overall contributions to the field of health administration education, broadly defined. This includes scholarly and practice-oriented research, teaching accomplishments, and other relevant experiences and achievements in areas such as curriculum and program building; student mentoring; and leadership in the health administration education field. Mid-career faculty, e.g., those who are at the Associate Professor level and/or have been in an academic position for an appropriate length of time, allowing for the building of a strong, multi-faceted record, are the desired focus for this award.
Dr. Kercsmar was nominated by Christy F. Brady, PhD and Associate Professor in CHS. Those on the selection committee said Dr. Kercsmar brings immeasurable gifts to AUPHA, CHS and the University.
“Dr. Kercsmar has proven to be a leader in the field of health administration education. She is committed to high-quality teaching, is an innovator in the classroom, and has been incredibly engaged with AUPHA over the years,” said Christopher Louis, PhD, MHA, Clinical Associate Professor and Chair ad interim of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University School of Public Health, a 2021 Thompson Prize recipient, and Chair of the 2025 Thompson Prize Selection Committee. “She is a creative and resourceful leader whose influence extends across her students, colleagues, and University into the profession of health administration education.”
“I am honored to be selected as this year’s Thompson Prize recipient. Being an educator is a team sport, perhaps now more than ever,” Dr. Kercsmar said. “I am grateful to my team at the University of Kentucky who are driven by passion and dedication to serve our students with joy each day. The Clinical Leadership & Management program has experienced a rebirth in the last seven years, and it has been a true labor of love. The AUPHA community has made me a better educator and leader — I learn new and innovative ways to grow as a health management educator from every meeting, webinar, and discussion post. Together, we teach, learn, serve, and create — and this award reflects our collective efforts.”
Dr. Kercsmar previously served as the Program Director for the Clinical Leadership & Management Program and the Certificate Director for the Clinical Healthcare Certificate program. During this time, the program received AUPHA undergraduate certification for the first time.
Dr. Kercsmar is the Chair of the Interprofessional Education Forum and serves on the Annual Planning Committee for AUPHA. She has also been an undergraduate certification reviewer and a journal reviewer for JHAE. Dr. Kercsmar says she loves teaching and working with students, from the very first year until graduation. She especially likes trying out new teaching methods and active learning tools to help students learn through hands-on experience. Her research interests include program administration best practices, scholarship of teaching and learning, and population level public health interventions.
“We are so very fortunate to have individuals like Dr. Sarah Kercsmar here in the College of Health Sciences,” said Scott Lephart, PhD and Dean of the College. “It is because of leaders like her that we are able to continue to educate the next generation of healthcare leaders and complete the research needed to help us fuel our mission to improve the health of our communities and region. Congratulations to Dr. Kercsmar on this wonderful honor.”
The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) is a global network of colleges, universities, faculty, individuals, and organizations dedicated to the improvement of healthcare delivery through excellence in healthcare management and policy education. Its mission is to foster excellence and innovation in health management and policy education, and scholarship. It is the only non-profit entity of its kind that works to improve the delivery of health services — and thus the health of citizens — throughout the world by educating professional managers at the entry level. AUPHA’s membership includes the premier baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in health administration education in the United States, Canada, and around the world. For more information, please visit www.aupha.org.