Michael R. Meacham graduated from Wichita State University in 1974 with a BA in Political Science and subsequently earned his JD from University of Kansas in 1978 and his MPH from Wichita State University / University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1998.

As an undergraduate at WSU, Mike served in the Student Government Association (SGA) all four years; was elected as SGA President his junior year and Senior Class President in his final year. Mike was also active in Model United Nations. SGA and Model UN provided the opportunities to learn and practice coalition building skills predicated on meeting the needs of other stakeholders in a respectful and appropriate way. Those lessons served him well in his subsequent service as an elected member of the KS House of Representatives (elected at the age of 23 and served from 1977-1985) and throughout his career as an attorney, lobbyist, health system administrator, professor and author of four textbooks and editor of the history of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

In addition to his service in the Kansas Legislature, Mike also holds the distinction of being appointed to the WSU Board of Trustees by Governors of each major political party; he also served as Chairman of the BOT, resigning from the Board in 1986 when he was appointed Executive Director of the WSU Alumni Association, serving there until 1990.

Prior to entering healthcare full-time, Mike’s professional career was dedicated to education, the environment, and extending healthcare services to the uninsured. In 1998, Mike received his MPH, a joint degree from Wichita State University and The University of Kansas Medical Center. While pursuing that degree, as a practicing attorney, Mike served as legal counsel and Executive Director of Community Care of Kansas, a Medicaid-related managed care program. In 1998, he left his law practice and Kansas to become the become Director of Health System Development for the State of Connecticut. Subsequently, he was named Vice President for Integrated Health Services at Eastern Connecticut Health Network, with responsibility for multiple healthcare units including administrative and clinical personnel, leading the successful implementation of a 2-campus hospitalist system, in addition to other responsibilities until moving with his wife, Dr. Vicky L. Triponey, when she became Vice President for Student Affairs at Pennsylvania State University. Mike then joined the PSU faculty in Health Policy and Administration in July 2003. Later, Mike served as Associate Director, then Director of PSU’s Master in Health Administration program. In 2010, Mike joined the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) faculty as Associate Professor in the department of Health Leadership and Management where he taught for 10 years until his retirement in 2020. While at MUSC, Mike taught both MHA and DHA courses, including Introduction to US Health System, Ethical Leadership, Health Policy, and Strategic Management.

Mike had authored, co-authored, or edited the following books:

• Law, Liability and Ethics for Medical Office Personnel, 5th edition (2012, contributor)
• From Backpack to Briefcase: Professional Development for Healthcare Administration Students (2015, sole author)
• Looking Back to Look Forward: AUPHA at 70 (2018, editor and co-author)
• Essentials of Healthcare Management, 2nd edition (2019, co-author)
• Health Policymaking in the United States, 8th edition (2021, sole author)

Mike also served on the Board of Directors for AUPHA from 2016-2019 and on its Executive Committee 2018-2019. In addition, Mike has served as a CAHME Fellow from 2013 – 2017 and continues to serve as an accreditation site visitor and as a member of the Candidacy Committee.