Founding MHA Director Dr. Daniel Dominguez to retire from UIW

SAN ANTONIO – Dr. Daniel Dominguez, the founding director of UIW’s Master of Health Administration program, is set to retire after 15 years at the university.

Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Dr. Dominguez joined the United States Navy in the early 1970s and remained in the military for the next three decades.

He earned an undergraduate degree in Business Management from Park College in 1982, a Master of Health Administration from Baylor in 1990, and a Ph.D. in Health Services Management and Research from the University of Iowa in 1998.

He came to UIW in the fall of 2003 after serving 30 years in the Navy, first as a shipboard electrician, then as a healthcare administrator and finally as a professor. Dr. Dominguez spent the last five years of his Naval career as a professor in the Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Health Administration, serving as the program’s director two of the five years.

His first experience with UIW was attending a banquet with his daughter when she received a UIW Presidential Scholarship. Soon after, former UIW business professor Dr. Larry Johnson, who was preparing to leave UIW at the time, contacted Dr. Dominguez about the position. 

“This is interesting in that he wasn’t thinking of me for the position, but of a colleague of mine who was retiring from the military at about the same time that I was,” Dr. Dominguez said. “I knew that my friend would not be interested in the position, and he wasn’t. I called Larry Johnson and asked him about the university as a place to work and he had nothing but great things to say about UIW.” 

Dr. Dominguez came to the H-E-B School of Business and served first as the director of the Master of Arts in Administration program and then as the director of the MHA program upon its founding in 2009. He was the director of both programs for two years before devoting his attention solely to the MHA program. He, along with Dr. Kevin LaFrance and Dr. Chris Nesser, built the MHA program from the ground up – something Dr. Dominguez said he has enjoyed most about his time at UIW. 

“This difficult task was made enjoyable because of the support of the administration, which allowed us to pursue accreditation from the start, and by the friendship, dedication and steadfast efforts of Drs. Kevin LaFrance and Chris Nesser,” Dr. Dominguez said. “Our Provost, Dr. Kathi Light, asked me after the award of our initial accreditation whether I believed we could have achieved accreditation so quickly with any other group of three individuals. I firmly believe the Lord intended us to be the three that would build the program, so the answer was an easy, ‘No.’”

The MHA program has graduated 127 students since the first class walked the stage in 2011. Dr. Dominguez is leaving the program in the capable hands of his former Army-Baylor student, Dr. Forest Kim, who was hired in the fall of 2017 to take over as MHA director.

Dr. Dominguez said it has been an honor to work alongside many like-minded people who strive to support the mission of the University of the Incarnate Word – something he says hasn’t changed since his first day on campus.

With a 45-year career spanning the military and higher education, Dr. Dominguez said what he is most looking forward to in retirement is not being responsible for a graduate program.

He will undoubtedly spend more time with his wife of almost 36 years, Evelyn, as well as his three children and two young grandchildren. He also plans to take part in more of the activities at his local church.

Dr. Dominguez will continue to assist the MHA program for the next two years in the form of special projects and teaching an occasional course. The H-E-B School of Business and Administration would like to thank Dr. Dominguez for his years of service to the school and the MHA program.

Dr. Dominguez joins his colleague Dr. Michael McGuire in retiring after the Spring 2018 semester. Click here to read about Dr. McGuire's 30 years at UIW.