Health Care UST MBA
Faculty
A key element of the Health Care UST MBA program’s success is the blend of theory and practical application delivered by our outstanding faculty.
Each faculty member is deeply rooted in both academic discipline and actual management experience. Furthermore, they have chosen St. Thomas for its commitment to the personal side of a business education, acting as teacher, mentor and career coach.
The Health Care UST MBA faculty are also excellent resources in networking, research, and professional development. Our faculty make themselves available to all our students, even if they have not yet had them in class.
We are pleased to list them here, along with short bios.
David Durenberger, J.D.
is the Senior Health Policy Fellow at the University of St. Thomas. He served as a senior United States Senator for Minnesota from 1978-1995. During his time in office, he served on numerous key Senate committees including 16 years on Finance, with responsibility for all Medicare, Medicaid and tax policy. Currently he influences national policy as chair of the National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP) and a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC), the Kaiser Commission on the Future of Medicaid and the Uninsured, the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the National Commission for Quality Long-term Care.
Dawn Elm, Ph.D.
is a Professor of Ethics and Management at the University of St. Thomas. Prior to coming to UST, she spent five years as a product development manager for the Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Business Ethics and has published numerous articles on business ethics and ethical decision making. She is a past president of the Social Issues in Management Division of the National Academy of Management, and an active member of the International Association for Business & Society, and the Society for Business Ethics.
Mark Fisher, MBA, FACMPE
is the acting CEO of Aspen Medical and a partner in The Syndeo Group. He is also the president of MedCare Compare, a new web-based tool designed to bring providers and patients together to make better, more informed medical decisions. Mark served over four years as the CEO of Minnesota Healthcare Network and Triium. Mark was the administrator of the Stillwater Medical Group, chief administrative officer of Park Nicollet Medical Center, the executive vice president for a multi-specialty medical group in Columbus, Ohio, and was the business manager for the pediatric department at the University of Minnesota. Mark is a Past President of the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association and is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives.
Ryan Johnson, J.D.
is an attorney with Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. He represents numerous physician groups, hospitals, medical device companies and others on legal and business issues specific to the health care industry.
Daniel McLaughlin, MHA
is Director of the Center for Business Excellence in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas. Prior to this position, he was the Executive Director of the National Institute of Health Policy at St. Thomas. From 1984 to 1992 Mr. McLaughlin was the CEO of Hennepin County Medical Center and Director of the county health system. He has served as chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. He served on President Clinton’s Task force on Health Care Reform in 1993. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, he is active in teaching and research at the University of St. Thomas with emphasis on health care operations, leadership and policy.
Ronald Menaker, Ed.D., FACMPE, MBA, CPA
is the Administrator for Psychiatry & Psychology and the Administrator for Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine, Administrative Services, Rochester Operations of Mayo Clinic. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic, Ron was the Executive Vice President of Prevea Health Services in Green Bay, Wisconsin and an Assistant Director of Patient Care at Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Ron has been actively involved in MGMA and ACMPE, serving on both Boards of Directors, and is Past Chair of The American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE).
Mike McIlhon
earned his graduate degree in Public Finance Economics from the University of Iowa, and has been teaching graduate and undergraduate economics for 32 years. Mike's areas of interest include Money and Banking, Economics of Public Policy, and, of course, Health Economics. In addition to stints as an investment portfolio manager and public policy consultant, Mike served as Executive Director and Research Director of taxpayer associations in Iowa and Minnesota. Mike joined the University of St. Thomas in 1991, and is also currently on the economics staff at Augsburg College and in the MnSCU system.
Sally Power, Ph.D.
is a Professor of Management. She has a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication and her fields of study are career development, general management, organizational behavior, and business ethics. Specific areas in which she has worked include managerial decision making, the comparison of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, various business ethics topics, and Japanese management practices. Her book, The Mid-Career Success Guide, Planning for the Second Half of Your Working Life was published in October, 2006, by the Praeger, an imprint of Greenwood Publishing.
Thomas Ressler, Ph.D.
is a Professor of Management at the University of St. Thomas, specializing in the application of statistics and mathematics for management decision making. He brings 25-plus years of teaching experience to the program.
Catherine Truchinski, CPA
is a Senior Financial Analyst at Marshfield Clinic with a primary focus on payor-related issues. She worked for a CPA firm for 2 ½ yrs as a staff accountant, then at a dairy cooperative and its joint venture marketing entity for a combined eight years in various positions from office manager/plant controller, to controller of the marketing joint venture. She has been with Marshfield Clinic for over 10 years and graduated from the Health Care UST MBA program with cohort 13 in December 2007. She is a member of the AICPA, WICPA and HFMA.
Frederick (Fritz) J. Wenzel, MBA, FACMPE
is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of St. Thomas. He was Executive Director of the Marshfield Clinic Medical Research Foundation for 16 years and Executive Director of the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, WI, for 17 years. He was Executive Vice President and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association in Englewood CO for three years. He consults to medical groups and hospital systems and has authored a number of papers and two books on medical and leadership topics.
Joseph White, CPA, MBA
is a principal for LarsonAllen, LLP and specializes in serving physician groups and health care systems. He has over 20 years of experience in consulting, tax and assurance services in the health care field. He is a licensed CPA and is a member of Medical Group Management Association, Minnesota Medical Group Management Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Health Care Financial Management Association.
Katie White, Ed.D.
is a Research Investigator at HealthPartners Research Foundation where she completed her doctoral dissertation study. Katie has over twenty years of management experience including senior positions within two academic health centers and with an integrated delivery system. Her work includes large-scale organizational change, strategic planning, new business development, team building, and executive coaching. In 1995, she joined retired U.S. Senator David Durenberger to develop the National Institute of Health Policy. Her volunteer activities include co-leading the Baby Steps to 2030 project with the Citizens League for the MN Department of Human Services and leadership of the board of Mental Health Resources.
