Soumitra Bhuyan, PhD, MPH
Soumitra Bhuyan, Executive Director of Health Administration Programs and Associate Professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, is the recipient of a National Leadership Excellence Award.
Jointly awarded by the Baldrige Foundation and Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), the award recognizes his exceptional achievement in advancing the quality of healthcare management education.
“I am deeply honored to receive the CAHME/Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence. This recognition highlights the progress we have achieved at the Rutgers Health Administration Program and our unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare management education,” Bhuyan said. “It reflects the school’s collective dedication to driving innovation, preparing the next generation of healthcare leaders, and establishing a lasting legacy of excellence at Rutgers.”
The Baldrige Foundation promotes leadership excellence by fostering strategies that align mission, vision, and values to drive innovation and achieve sustainable results. Through educational programs, resources, and recognition initiatives, the foundation empowers leaders to foster a culture of continuous improvement and resilience, ensuring their organizations can adapt and thrive in a competitive environment.
“The Baldrige Foundation is proud to have collaborated with CAHME to develop an individual leadership award that recognizes role-model leaders who challenge, encourage, and empower others to achieve performance excellence.” said Al Faber, President and CEO, Baldrige Foundation.
“Dr. Bhuyan exemplifies the essence of both the CAHME and Baldrige principles, fostering a culture of continuous improvement that elevates the quality of healthcare management education. By ensuring students are well-prepared to lead, he inspires not only the Rutgers community, but also the entire field of healthcare management.” Said Anthony Stanowski, President and CEO, CAHME.
By fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and resilience, Bhuyan hopes to provide educational institutions with guidance to excel in delivering high-quality educational experiences to students while staying true to their missions. These strategies resonate with the Baldrige model of embedding excellence into an organization’s DNA, ensuring the program not only meets its goals but also thrives in a competitive and dynamic environment.
This approach highlights why some institutions succeed in creating lasting impacts on their students and stakeholders, while others struggle to adapt to the demands of an ever-changing landscape.
Bloustein School Dean Stuart Shapiro added, “Our very young health administration program has quickly ascended the national rankings, and the teaching, mentorship, and leadership of Professor Bhuyan is no small reason why. We are thrilled to see his work be recognized.”
“On behalf of the faculty and staff involved with the Rutgers Leadership Academy, we are very pleased to congratulate Soumitra Bhuyan on receiving this prestigious award,” noted Ralph Gigliotti, Assistant Vice President for Organizational Leadership in University Academic Affairs at Rutgers.
“As a 2021-2022 Fellow in the Rutgers Leadership Academy, Dr. Bhuyan demonstrated a commitment to developing his leadership abilities. We are thrilled to learn of the impact of his leadership in advancing the quality of healthcare management education.”
Bhuyan’s impact extends beyond Rutgers, with his research and writings featured in prominent national and regional outlets such as The Hill, ABC News, Becker’s Hospital Review, and The Star-Ledger. He serves as an Associate Editor for BMJ Global Health and holds editorial roles in leading healthcare academic journals, including The Journal of Health Administration Education.
“This well-deserved recognition reflects Dr. Bhuyan’s talent, hard work, and ability to inspire and empower those around him. His dedication to advancing our programs at Rutgers and his commitment to student success has been pivotal to our program’s success,” said Roberto Muniz, Bloustein School Senior Health Administration Fellow and President/CEO of Parker Health Group.
“We are proud to have him on our team and look forward to the continued impact he will make in shaping the future of healthcare leadership.”
Bhuyan’s accolades include other national honors for research and leadership, such as the Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for women’s health research and the “Rising Star” award from the American Public Health Association’s Health Administration Section. He also serves as an Accreditation Fellow and a member of the Standards Council for CAHME, where he plays a critical role in overseeing accreditation processes and contributing to the continuous improvement of healthcare management education.
In 2018, Dr. Brent Ruben, School of Communication and Information Distinguished Professor and Founder and Senior University Fellow, Center for Organizational Leadership, was one of the inaugural winners of the Baldrige Foundation Leadership Excellence Awards, recognizing his contributions to the education sector.
About The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc.
The Baldrige Foundation was created as the private partner to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program in 1988. Its mission is to ensure the long-term financial viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and to support organizational performance excellence throughout the United States and the world. The Baldrige Program, located at NIST within the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a separate entity and is solely responsible for managing and administering the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For more information on the Baldrige Award process please visit: https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award.