Stephen O'Connor

Stephen J. O’Connor, Ph.D., FACHE, is a professor in the Department of Health Services Administration and a Scholar in the UAB Lister Hill Center for Health Policy. He received his B.S. (Microbiology) and M.P.A. (Health Systems Planning) degrees from Indiana University, his M.B.A. degree (health services management) from the University of Dallas, and his Ph.D. (Administration – Health Services) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). O’Connor is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He was previously employed at Parkland Health & Hospital System, and has held faculty positions in the School of Public Health at Saint Louis University, and the School of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. O’Connor directed the UAB Master of Science in Health Administration program from 2000-2009 and has been a Visiting Professor in the Master of International Health Management, Economics, and Policy program at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy and in the Gerald & Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. He has also taught at the King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia and has served on the governing boards of a number of healthcare organizations. Currently, he is the United States representative on the Board of the European Academy of Management.

He previously chaired the Health Care Management Division of the Academy of Management. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals including the Journal of Healthcare Management and Health Care Management Review. He was editor of the Journal of Healthcare Management, the official journal of the ACHE, from 2010-2014.

O'Connor is twice the recipient of ACHE’s “Health Management Research Award” (1990 with Daniel Raab and 2001 with Richard Shewchuk and David Fine). In 2012, he received the UAB School of Health Professions Excellence in Teaching Award and the John D. and Starr A. Blair Award in Health Organization Management Research from Texas Tech University. He received the Myron D. Fottler Exceptional Service Award from the Health Care Management Division of the Academy of Management in 2013 and, in 2014, the Exemplary Service Award from the ACHE.

He co-edited the book (with S. Robert Hernandez): “Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations.” His published research articles have appeared in journals such as Journal of Healthcare Management, Medical Care Research and Review, Health Services Research, Health Care Management Review, Journal of Health Administration Education, Advances in Health Care Management, World Hospitals and Health Services, BMC Health Services Research, Inquiry, Journal of Patient Experience, Quality Management in Health Care, Social Science and Medicine, Health Services Management Research, Journal of Psychological Type, Marketing Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, Social Justice Research, Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Health Marketing Quarterly, and Journal of Accounting and Finance.

Research Overview

• Health care management competency development, validation, and measurement.
• Physicians as managers and the physician-management interface.
• Using cognitive mapping approaches to gain deeper understanding of phenomena such as the meaning of health care management research, journal rankings, and graduate programs in health administration.
• Health care marketing.
• Marketing service quality, service orientation, and patient experience.
• Understanding patient expectations for health services.

Teaching Overview

• Marketing Strategy and Research (Executive Doctoral)
• Philosophy of Science (Doctoral)
• Research in Organizational Theory (Doctoral)
• Research Methods (Doctoral)
• Human Resources Management in Health Services Administration (Residential & Executive MSHA, International MSHA – Saudi Arabia)
• Organization Theory and Behavior (Residential MSHA)
• Synthesis. Preceptorship/Field Visit (Executive MSHA)
• Special Topics in Health Services Administration (Executive MSHA)
• Introduction to the United States Health Care Delivery System (Residential MSHA))
• Health Services Management (American University of Armenia)
• Health Care Marketing (Bocconi University)

Education And Training

• Doctor of Philosophy in Health and Medical Administrative Services, University of Alabama at Birmingham 1988
• Master of Business Administration in Health / Health Care Administration / Management, University of Dallas 1984
• Master of Public Administration in Health Services Administration, Indiana University System : Indiana University-Bloomington 1981
• Bachelor of Science or Mathematics in Microbiology, Indiana University System : Indiana University-Bloomington 1979

Awards And Honors

• Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, 2017
• Exemplary Service Award, 2014
• Exceptional Service Award, 2013
• Invited lecture. “The Health Care Management Research Journey: Different Strokes for Different Folks.”, 2012
• Distinguished Service Award, 2012
• Professor John D. and Starr A. Blair Award in Health Organization Management Research, 2012
• School of Health Professions Excellence in Teaching Award, 2012
• Who’s Who in American Education, 2008
• Service Award, 2008
• Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, 2007
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2007
• Who’s Who in America, 2004
• Best Paper Award, 2003
• Second place poster award for “Hospital Based Physicians’ Attitudes regarding Medical Error,”, 2003
• Second place poster award for “Evaluating Curriculum Content Using an Excel-Based Course Assessment Tool,”, 2002
• Health Management Research Award, 2001
• Best Paper Award, 1999
• Service Award, 1998
• Manuscript selected as a best paper, 1995
• "Outstanding Alumni" Award, 1994
• Health Management Research Award, 1990
• Award for the best paper based on a dissertation, 1989
• Elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, 1984
• Elected to Pi Alpha Alpha, 1981