For more than 40 years, Richard S. Kurz, PhD, has had a prominent academic career. Dr. Kurz spent most of his career at Saint Louis University (SLU), where he held numerous leadership positions, including director of the PhD program in health services research, chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy, and dean of the School of Public Health. In the latter role, he was instrumental in significantly increasing the research funding, size of the faculty, and size of the student body. He led SLU's initial Council on Education in Public Health accreditations. He also established two new international degree programs (Master of Health Administration and Doctor of Public Health) in Taiwan.
His extensive involvement in community and professional service has included roles as chair of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration board; commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education; and editor of Hospital & Health Services Administration, now known as the Journal of Healthcare Management. He has been successful in obtaining considerable extramural research support and has published in numerous peer-reviewed research journals. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Washington and Lee University and a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
