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I am honored and delighted to serve as the Department Chair of Health Care Administration (HCA) at California State University, Long Beach. We strive to offer the best education possible to our diverse student body through a rigorous curriculum and exemplary teaching pedagogy, relevant field research, and experiential learning & professional development gained from internships and our connectivity to alumni, local, and regional organizations. The health care industry continues to offer opportunities for growth and success as the health care demand and challenges continue to evolve. The adoption of new business and care delivery model requires further creative thinking, innovations, and new strategies. As a result, employment in the health sector has grown at a much faster rate; and creates more work opportunities.

Our overall program enrollment numbers have grown considerably over the years. In 2009, the Department had nearly two hundred undergraduate health care administration majors, and now the number is 2.5 times higher with more than five hundred students in the program. The graduate programs have a steady enrollment with about 25-30 students enrolled in each of our graduate degree programs every year.

There are many factors contribute to the growth of the Department. Currently, we have ten full-time core faculty and more than twenty-five executive faculty members who have been tirelessly improving our curriculum. The Department has also received tremendous support from our advisory board members, alumni group HCAAN, internship preceptors, dedicated staff, and active student groups HCASF and UPD). Through which, the Department has not only earned a great reputation in Southern California but also has resulted in the re-certification by  and re-accreditation by  for our undergraduate and graduate programs, respectively.

Additionally, the success stories of HCA's alumni as they enter the workplace in health care organizations contribute to the growing reputation of the Department as a place to go to for quality education. Our connections with our HCA Alumni Network of over one thousand graduates not only helps to keep us current and stay abreast in our curriculum, but also provides job opportunities, internship placement, and mentorship to our current students.

The Department also offers opportunities to our undergraduate students to take study abroad courses and/ or to get a minor in one of COB’s business programs--such as finance, information systems, human resource management, and marketing, without delaying their graduation and time to complete their degree. Obtaining experiences abroad and/ or this minor help our students to gain additional expertise and employable skills to be more competitive in the job search and/or promotion.

On behalf of our core and executive faculty and staff, I would like to thank you for your strong support of the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Department of Health Care Administration. Should you have any questions or feedback for the Department, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Best regards,
Henry O'Lawrence, PhD
Department Chair