Texas Children’s Hospital president to speak at campus lecture

Texas
Children’s Hospital president to speak at campus lecture
…………………………………………………………………

BY MAILEEN HAMTO
Special to the Rice News

Mark Wallace,
president and chief executive officer of Texas Children’s
Hospital, will speak at the Dean’s Lecture scheduled
for Wednesday, March 6, at Rice’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate
School of Management.

Wallace, appointed
to his current position in 1989, was instrumental in building
and maintaining one of the pre-eminent chil-dren’s
hospitals in the nation — as well as the largest children’s
hospital in the nation, treating more than 1.2 million children
annually.

The public is
invited to the free lecture, to be held at 9:45 a.m. in
Room 124 Herring Hall.

Under Wallace’s
direction, Texas Children’s completed an ambitious
capital project in 1991, a $149 million facilities modernization
and development program to add more than 1 million square
feet to the hospital’s campus. Wallace again is spearheading
the development of another major building expansion program,
at a cost of $345 million, to add 1.2 million square feet
and increase the hospital’s licensed bed capacity from
456 to 616 beds.

As an advocate
for children’s health care and for the funding of children’s
health programs, Wallace has testified before numerous government
agencies. Most recently, he championed the effort to pass
legislation establishing the Children’s Health Insurance
Program in Texas.

Prior to his
position at Texas Children’s, Wallace was a senior
vice president at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. As
an administrative resident at The Methodist Hospital, he
was promoted to assistant vice president at age 24. After
only two years, Wallace was named vice president. In 1983,
Wallace — then 30 — was promoted to senior vice
president and given full responsibility for the hospital’s
Staff Services Division.

As a proven
leader in health care, Wallace has influenced efforts at
the national, state and local levels. He holds the distinction
of being one of the few executives in the country who advanced
to fellowship status in the American College of Healthcare
Executives (ACHE) at the age of 35. Continuing his involvement
with ACHE, he is past chairman of the Houston chapter.

In 1987, he
was a recipient of the prestigious “Emerging Leaders
in Health Care” award. This national award, co-sponsored
by the Healthcare Forum and the executive search firm of
Korn/Ferry International, recognizes executives who have
demonstrated the potential to be major leaders in the health
care field.

Wallace’s
undergraduate alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist University, selected
him to receive the Profile in Excellence Award in 1988,
and in 1992 he was the recipient of the university’s
Alumni Achievement Award, which honors outstanding alumni
for special achievements and loyal service in their specific
fields. In 1990, Wallace was elected to the Young Presidents’
Organization, recognizing chief executive officers of corporations
with substantial revenues who are under age 40.

In 1992, the
American College of Healthcare Executives honored Wallace
as recipient of the Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award, designating
him as the “Young Healthcare Executive of the Year.”

The Dean’s
Lecture Series brings prominent business leaders to talk
with students at formal presentations, followed by informal
receptions. Past speakers at the lecture series include
Jim Turley, global chairman of Ernst & Young; Keith
Bailey, chairman, president and chief executive officer
of Williams Co.; Douglas Daft, chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola
Co.; Michael Bloomberg, founder and president, Bloomberg
Financial Services and mayor of New York; and Michael Capellas,
president and chief executive officer, Compaq Computer Corp.

— Maileen
Hamto is assistant director of public relations at the Jesse
H. Jones Graduate School of Management.