Retiring faculty: Larry Wrobel
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When Larry Wrobel, DHA, came to the School of Public Health in 2012 as an adjunct faculty member with the
SPH’s Master of Healthcare Administration program, he viewed his new role as an encore career.
For the previous 35 years, Wrobel held numerous management positions in healthcare, including chief operating officer of Advocate Medical Group, vice president of operations at Illinois Masonic Medical Center and president and CEO of Ravenswood Hospital and Medical Center. That experience played a key role in reshaping SPH’s MHA program, a task Wrobel led as MHA program director for the past six years. As he retires from program management and teaching, Wrobel leaves a program that has changed significantly to match the evolving leadership needs in healthcare.
“We’ve gone from a home-grown program in 2005 to significantly enhancing the awareness of the program and
participating in national organizations,” Wrobel said.
Some of the key changes during his time leading the program include the introduction of data analytics and health policy courses, a focus on preparing students for collaboration with physician leaders in healthcare systems and preparation for quality and performance improvement skills. He collaborated in the hiring of new faculty that have developed a nationally recognized base of research and led the program’s latest accreditation, aligned with a new set of program competency models reflecting the latest trends in healthcare management.
“[My time at UIC] really gave me an opportunity to take my experiences and share them with students, and hopefully prepare them to be effective leaders in the healthcare industry,” Wrobel said. “I get a great deal of satisfaction from having had the opportunity to teach the future leaders of healthcare.”