Health Administration Educator Selected as Outstanding Adviser
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 20, 2004
CONTACT: Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Health Administration Educator Selected as Outstanding Adviser
Richard Narad, Department of Health and Community Services, California State University, Chico, has been selected as Outstanding Adviser for 2003-2004.
Narad has been at CSU, Chico since 1990. In 1991, he was chosen as coordinator of the Health Services Administration Option within Health Science. With that role came the advising of students in the option and minor. In addition to his advising duties, Narad also supervises students in their internships and keeps contact with alumni. He initiated the student chapter of American College of Health Executives on campus and has been its adviser since its inception.
According to his advisees, Narad is all of the things that a good adviser should be: caring, available, a good listener and knowledgeable. Two of his former advisees, in letters of nomination, spoke of the “life-changing” influence he has had on their lives: “Dr. Narad changed my school career, my life, and his advice will assist me in the future,” said one former student.
“First and foremost Rick loves to advise students and often talks about the satisfaction he gets from it. And the students like him. Not only is he competent, but also he cares about their well being,” said Armeda Ferrini, chair of the Department of Health and Community Services.
Over and above the advising he has given to countless students in the last 12 years, the last three without release time, Narad developed two- and four-year plans for the department long before it was initiated at the university level. He also developed a personalized grid that he uses in his advising sessions for individuals who do not fit the four-year plan. He calls it the “automated advising system,” and students walk away from his office, said Ferrini, with an individualized plan for graduation.
Narad also developed the department’s Web page to provide easy access to advising materials, including a page on Web links for health career searches. He is also responsible for the HCSV link page of legislation, documents, professional organizations and Web sites to assist students in their research.
In addition to coordinating the Health Services and Emergency Medical Services Administration programs, Narad is vice chair of the department. He received his M.P.A., with a specialty in health services administration, and his D.P.A., with a specialty in health policy, from the University of Southern California. Prior to coming to Chico, Narad was an emergency medical services administrator and consultant. He is currently chair of the American Society for Testing and Materials committee on emergency medical services.
Narad was also chosen as an outstanding project director for 2003. Narad has received eight awards in the past three years, totaling $574,469. His research focuses on public policy related to the planning, implementation and management of emergency medical services systems, and he regularly assists organizations with their E.M.S. programs. Recent contracts include needs assessments, planning for trauma systems and planning for a new ambulance system. His work also includes revision of the E.M.S. System Standards and Guidelines for the California E.M.S. Authority for development over the next decade.
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