UA’s Williams Named Association’s Health Care Management Chair

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Eric Williams, director of the health care management program at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce, has been named the chair of the Health Care Management Division of the Academy of Management after serving as chair-elect, conference program chair, and professional development workshop chair.

Williams, also the Minnie Miles Research Professor, has published in a number of management, health care and medical journals including “Health Services Research,” “ Journal of Management,” “Medical Care,” “Medical Care Research and Review,” “Health Care Management Review,” “Journal of General Internal Medicine” and “Journal of Family Practice.”

Under Williams’ guidance, UA health care management students have consistently been in the top three places in the Richard J. Stull Essay Competition sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives in which students research and author an essay on major health care issues.

“These are tempestuous times in American health care,” said Dr. Rob Morgan, head of the department of management and marketing. “Dr. Williams is doing a great job of making sure that our health care management students are aware of the issues and are equipped to deal with the nation’s health care challenges. His election as chair of the Academy of Management’s health care management division underscores the esteem in which he is held by his colleagues.”

The Academy of Management is a leading professional association for scholars dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about management and organizations. Founded in 1936, the Academy of Management is the oldest and largest scholarly management association in the world and the professional home for 19,650 members from 105 nations.  The Health Care Management Division comprises more than 900 faculty and practitioner members.

Williams has made a number of presentations at national conferences and served as reviewer and session chair and discussant. He also received the 2000 Best Paper Award from the Health Care Management Division of the Academy of Management, the 1996 Best Poster Award from the Association of Health Services Research, and the 1992 Best Empirical Paper from the Eastern Academy of Management.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas, his Master of Science degree from Purdue University, his doctorate from the University of New York at Buffalo, and he was a National Research Service Award post-doctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina.

He is an active member of the Academy of Management, Association of University Programs in Health Administration, the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society and Academy of Health.