UPD Inductions

The UNC Charlotte Chapter of Upsilon Phi Delta (UPD) held its annual induction ceremony and reception as part of National Public Health Week. UPD, administered by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), is the national academic honor society for healthcare management and policy that recognizes and rewards academic excellence in healthcare administration. This year’s induction ceremony, the chapter’s fifth, included the inductions of honorary, alumni, and faculty members in addition to the 10 student inductees.

The honorary inductee, Dr. Marcus Plescia, Director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department, actively supports the MHA Program and the College of Health and Human Services through sponsoring MHA capstone projects and internships, and, more recently, by spearheading the creation of an academic health department collaboration with our college. He previously worked as the Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. While serving as a family physician with Carolinas Healthcare System, Dr. Plescia led the CDC-funded Charlotte REACH 2010 community health initiative.

Our alumni inductee, Ryan Neaves, MHA ’11, serves as the Dimensions Ambulatory Clinical Applications Manager at Novant Health. Ryan, an advocate for our MHA Program, regularly returns to share his insights and career guidance during CHESO organized sessions.

Faculty inductee Dr. James Laditka was honored for the quality of his teaching and commitment to student advising and success within the MHA Program. His research interests include aging, disability, and public health. More recently, Dr. Laditka has focused on the effects of unemployment on health.

MHA students, alumni, and faculty members, friends, and family turned out to honor and celebrate with the new inductees, and enjoyed mingling at the reception that followed.

This year, our UPD Chapter also was given the opportunity to award a rotating scholarship funded by the UPD national office and AUPHA. The faculty recommended Kodi Smith to receive this award in recognition of her service to the program as CHESO President and in the community.

You can find a the list of inductees and more information about UPD at the chapter’s website: https://hmp.charlottewp.psapp.dev/about/honor-societies/upsilon-phi-delta.