inPractice - Winter 2019 - 11

TEACHING
& LEARNING

FACULTY PROFILE

Photo by Eric Forberger

Master Builder

In 2014, when the trustees of PA College
decided to radically expand the College's
master's-level offerings, they found an ideal
person to lead the effort: Joseph York, PhD, an
educator with decades of experience in almost
every dimension of the health sciences.

in public policy, and served as national dean for
health sciences at DeVry University.

you rarely see in traditional universities,"
York says. "We're really very collaborative."

"I've been very lucky in the opportunities I've
had," says York, who now serves as program
director for the master's in healthcare
administration program. "I'm really in my
third or fourth career."

Then, in 2014, came the offer from PA
College: Would York like to help build
new master's-level programs in health care
administration, health sciences, and nursing?
"PA College has a great heritage to build
upon," York says. "When I interviewed for
this job, I knew right away that this was where
I wanted to go. I'm really pleased that they
saw some promise in me and that I was able to
help deliver these programs for them."

Because PA College's master's degree
programs are largely online, York has gone to
great lengths to ensure that students make
connections with each other and that faculty
members are easily accessible.

York started his working life with a master's
degree in biochemistry. He spent several
years as a bench scientist in a cardiology
laboratory at an academic medical center in
Chicago. At a certain point, he realized that
he was more intrigued by human systems
than by cardiac-tissue matrices. "I started to
get interested in what was going on in the
rest of the hospital," he says. "I decided to
earn an MBA and move into administration."
That decision turned out be fruitful. In the
ensuing 30 years, York managed the surgicalservices line at a major hospital, directed
the residency program at the University of
Washington Medical Center, earned a doctorate

Today, York divides his time between
teaching courses in health care
administration and overseeing master's-level
programs in collaboration with the Graduate
Curriculum and Policy Committee.
One of the great strengths of PA College,
York says, is that faculty members aren't
walled off in their own professional silos.
Nursing faculty members are happy to
exchange ideas with specialists in respiratory
therapy or health care administration.
"The kind of interprofessional
communication we have here is something

"Dr. York is always sensible, and I appreciated
his guidance," says Mary Papadoplos, MHA
'19, who directs the medicine services line at
Lancaster General Hospital. "My practicum
project examined the coordination of sepsis
care between hospitals and nursing homes,
and he always had good ideas about how to
move that project forward."
Five years after arriving at PA College, York
says he's pleased by the choice he made.
"This has been a great opportunity to help
develop new programs from the ground up,"
he says. "PA College has been around for
more than 115 years, but it's got a youthful
spirit. It's continuing to innovate, and it's
continued to transform itself over the course
of its history." n

PA College / Winter 2019

11
inPractice - Winter 2019

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