Awards
CPH winners of the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Alumni Award
2007: Stephen L. Ummel, 65MA
STEPHEN L. UMMEL HAS BEEN SELECTED TO RECEIVE a 2007 University
of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor presented by the
UI Alumni Association. Widely known for his transformational leadership
in the health care fi eld, Ummel is receiving the Distinguished Alumni
Award for Service, an honor given to UI graduates or former students
for specific and meritorious service to their university, community, state,
or nation.
Ummel graduated in 1965 with an M.A. in hospital and health
administration, and worked with former University of Iowa Hospitals
and Clinics director John W. Colloton during the 1970s to plan, fund,
and systematically rebuild the University’s clinical care system. Ummel
then embarked upon an 18-year span as the president/CEO of three
nationally known health systems, including Memorial in South Bend, Ind.;
Memorial in Long Beach, Calif.; and Lutheran General/Advocate Health
Care in the Chicago area. He has also contributed some 60 published
articles to the health care literature and delivered countless keynote
addresses, papers, and seminars. Ummel’s consulting practice over the past
11 years, at the zenith of his professional career, has enabled him to sustain
improvement through transformational service to hospitals, health systems,
and academic medical centers. He is currently director of the Healthcare
Advisory Practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Chicago.
Ummel is a diplomat of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the American Hospital Association, which named him “CEO of the Year” in 1992. He maintains ties to The University of Iowa as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Health Management and Policy and serves as chair of the College of Public Health Board of Advisors.