Julie Chupp, director of site development for Dispensary of Hope, a Nashville-based non-profit that provides medications to those in need, has been named this year’s recipient of a full-tuition sponsorship to the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management’s Executive MBA program. The Owen School funds the award, which covers the full cost of the two-year tuition, and selects the winner in partnership with the Nashville Center for Nonprofit Management.
“Julie has a true sense of mission about her work,” said Tami Fassinger, associate dean of executive programs at the Owen School. “From seeing her mother’s experiences as a nurse to helping the uninsured get critical medicines in her current role, Julie recognizes the many organizational and financial challenges facing health care today.
Fassinger said the Executive MBA program will help give Julie the tools to make an even greater impact on the health care industry and on important nonprofit organizations like the Dispensary of Hope.
The Dispensary of Hope redistributes donated medications from manufacturers and physicians to safety-net clinics and pharmacies that serve patients in need. Chupp works with executives from health care companies to match the Dispensary of Hope’s donated resources to patient needs. She also helped create an online ordering and enrollment system that allows clinics and pharmacies to order supplies from the Dispensary of Hope’s inventory, and enroll patients in prescription assistance programs for some 700 short- and long-term medications.
“I believe the most effective, responsible and sustainable way to make an impact is through social entrepreneurship—creating organizations that solve social problems based on traditional business principles,” said Chupp, a summa cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University. “[rquote]I’m truly honored and thrilled for the opportunity to transform this rich academic experience into strategies that can better serve our community.[/rquote]”
The Owen School launched the sponsorship program under the leadership of Dean Jim Bradford in 2005 to recognize one deserving Middle Tennessee nonprofit executive each year. Applications are open to executives and senior staff members of any Middle Tennessee 501(c)(3) organization that have demonstrated a strong commitment to serving in the nonprofit sector.
A selection committee that includes representatives from the Owen School and Nashville’s Center for Nonprofit Management chooses the recipient from a pool of admitted applicants coming into the Executive MBA program. Requirements for admission include strong GMAT scores, a record of academic accomplishment, previous management experience and a formal interview.
Past recipients of the award include Robyn Minton, former director of the YWCA’s Domestic Violence Service program; Michael McSurdy, vice president of program services for the Oasis Center; Mark McCaw, program administrator of Siloam Family Health Center; Beth Torres, vice president of events and funding development for Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee; and Anderson Williams, director of consulting for the Oasis Center.