By Sara A. Mayo
As the University of Florida Master of Health Administration program celebrates its 60th anniversary, it’s only fitting to go back to the very beginning.
That’s where Ronald Aldrich was.
On April 23, 1966, Aldrich, M.B.A., LFACHE (’66), alongside his classmates, became part of UF’s very first cohort of Master of Health Administration graduates, the start of a program that now spans six decades and more than 1,000 alumni.
Looking back, Aldrich can tell you that much has changed since that first commencement day. Even the name of the program has evolved. Until 1988, the degree was known as a “Master of Business Administration in Health and Hospital Administration.”
But change, as Aldrich has learned over a lifetime in healthcare, is never ending and, often transformative.
“Legislation was passed in 1965 [while I was in school], which created the Medicare and Medicaid programs the following year,” he recalled. “Both programs have evolved dramatically since their formation. The next most significant change was the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.”
With 59 years of leadership experience across the United States in both national and regional health systems, Aldrich has witnessed and helped lead many of those transformations firsthand.
While a student, Aldrich enjoyed courses such as Healthcare Finance but felt it was his administrative residencies that left the greatest impact.
“The parts [of my M.H.A. experience that] stood out the most were my administrative residencies at Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville and Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago,” Aldrich recalls. “I had the best preceptors [at both locations].”
Those experiences, he said, cemented his understanding of hospital administration and from there incited a lifelong commitment to leadership and learning.
Immediately following graduation, Aldrich joined the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps, where he served for three and a half years at naval hospitals in Oakland, California, and Memphis, Tennessee, during the Vietnam War.
Following his military service, Aldrich embarked on his career in hospital administration, education and governance, contributing to organizations across the country, and taking courses in healthcare administration at the Union Institute and the University of Missouri. He even served in his first faculty role at the University of Missouri for a brief time in 1973.
Yet, he never lost touch with UF or the foundation the program gave him.
“My education in M.H.A. and M.B.A. courses at UF were what helped create a pathway forward in my healthcare career,” Aldrich said.
Decades later, Aldrich was once again back in the Swamp, but not as a student.
From 2004 until 2009, Aldrich returned to UF, this time as a visiting professor and executive in residence for the M.H.A. program, helping to develop the same program that launched his career.
“I have been very impressed with the growth and development of the University of Florida M.H.A.,” he reflects. “[The dean at the time], Dean Robert Frank, was very supportive, and most recently, [program director] Dr. Keith Benson has done a great job leading the program.”
In 2011, Aldrich helped establish the University of New Mexico’s M.H.A. program, where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor more than a decade later.
“I currently teach three virtual courses a year — healthcare ethics, hospital and clinic administration, and healthcare quality management,” Aldrich said. “Preparing the next generation of healthcare leaders is my most important role, and I am very honored to connect with my students.”
Today, Aldrich remains active in both education and leadership, serving on the ACHE New Mexico Board, the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives New Mexico Advisory Board, and the Santa Fe County Health Planning and Policy Commission.
Nearly 60 years after walking across the stage as one of UF’s first M.H.A. graduates, Ronald Aldrich continues to embody the program’s mission: empowering aspiring healthcare leaders by leading, teaching and serving with the same curiosity and commitment that began in Gainesville all those years ago.