Department of Healthcare Leadership & Management

Eric Richardson, Ph.D., MBA, MPH, PHR, SHRM-CP, CHHR, FACHDM, is the chair and professor of the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

Dr. Richardson is a higher education leader with more than two decades of experience teaching and developing curricula for traditional and online learning environments, with a focus on innovative and applied learning. His scholarly interests center on artificial intelligence, competency-based education, innovative online learning design, and the creation of connective and personalized learning environments. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion, as well as graduate certificates in health administration and human resource management. In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Richardson is a Certified in Healthcare Human Resources (CHHR) professional, a Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR). Collectively, these academic and professional credentials provide a robust interdisciplinary foundation that bridges business, public health, and workforce leadership, informing his approach to innovative curriculum design and organizational development in healthcare education.

Dr. Richardson has been recognized nationally for excellence in teaching, service, and innovation. He received the 2023 Academy of Management Health Care Management Division Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2022 Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) Faculty Service Award, and the 2019-2020 University of North Carolina Wilmington Excellence in eLearning Award. In 2018, he became a Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) Fellow, later achieving the distinction of CAHME Certified Fellow in 2025, and was also inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Health Data Management (FACHDM) that same year.

An active contributor to the profession, Dr. Richardson has served as chair of the national Education and Learning Committee for the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) and as forum chair for the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) Distance Learning Faculty Forum. He currently serves on editorial board of the Journal of Health Administration Education (JHAE) and is a regular contributor to HR Pulse Magazine. He maintains active membership and leadership involvement in the Academy of Management and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Jean Gordon, DBA, MSN, brings a distinguished career in healthcare, business, and academia to her new role as MHA Online Division Director and associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Miami in 1974. She later returned to higher education, completing her Master of Science in Human Resource Management (1997) and Doctorate in Business Administration (1999) at Nova Southeastern University. At the doctoral level, she specialized in Human Resource Management, Marketing, and Research Methods.

Committed to lifelong learning, Dr. Gordon went on to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (2010) from Kaplan University, a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting (2015), and a Post-Master's Certificate as a Family Nurse Practitioner (2018).

Dr. Gordon has extensive leadership experience in marketing, accounting, and human resource management, with a focus on both domestic and global settings. She is widely published in the areas of human resource management, talent strategy for retention, and knowledge management. In addition, she remains active in professional service through membership in the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Academy of Management (AOM), and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA).

Her career reflects a dedication to advancing healthcare leadership, integrating business acumen with clinical expertise, and mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Abby Kazley, Ph.D., is an award-winning educator and researcher who currently leads the Master of Science in Health Informatics program in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She also previously led and taught in the Master in Health Administration program at MUSC. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Health Services Organization and Research from VCU. Her research examines the correlations between health information technology use and outcomes such as cost, quality, and efficiency.

Dr. Kazley teaches in the areas of management and strategy. She is recognized as a leader in competency-based education and the use of technology in education with more than 60 peer-reviewed publications. She has served in a number of leadership roles, including treasurer of the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) South Carolina Chapter.

Kit N. Simpson, DrPH, is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Health Care Leadership and Management in the College of Health Professions and of Public Health Science in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. Director of MUSC’s Comparative Effectiveness Data Analysis Resource (CEDAR) core which is the repository for 7+ terra-bytes of archival health services data used for faculty research.

Dr. Simpson received an MPH in Public Health Policy and DrPH in Health Services Research from the Gillings School of Public Health in NC. She was a RWJ Faculty Finance Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Her research is focused on economic analysis “piggy-backed” to clinical trials and on the use of “big data” for cost, access and quality improvement studies.