The HPM program hosted its annual Alumni Career Forum in April, an event that was attended by more than 20 current and prospective majors. Tricia Brennan '01, Laurie Conroy '01, Julie Dunn '02, Andrea Neville '03, Caitlin Sampers '03, and Samantha Stanley '03 returned to campus to share their experiences after graduating from PC.

In the spring of 2003, the Faculty Senate and the president of the college approved a new course that will be offered for the first time in the 2004-2005 academic year entitled Special Topics in Health Policy and Management. This course will enable the HPM program to offer a wide range of new electives for majors, and will allow the program's curriculum to keep pace with changes in the field.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities at PC, Dr. Hackey served as a visiting professor of political science at Brown University in the Spring 2003 term, where he taught the department's Introduction to Public Policy course (PS 10).

Thanks to the hard work of Jay Higgins '03, Brittany Harrington '03, and Greg Silva '05, a student chapter of the American College of Health Care Executives was created on campus during the 2002-2003 academic year.

On December 4, 2002, the HPM program hosted a resume workshop and mock interviewing session for majors facilitated by Jeanette Eke, a recruiting specialist with MEDITECH. The workshop was held in the Koffler Hall conference room and was attended by 10 HPM majors; a buffet dinner was served to all participants. Each student brought copies of their resumes with them to the workshop were dressed in "interviewing attire" for the event.

The HPM faculty's proposal to create an interdisciplinary Health Care Forum was also approved by the administration in November 2002. The HPM faculty are now in the process of seeking external funding for speakers and conferences on health care issues that affect the state and the region.

On November 8, 2002, Dr. Hackey presented a paper entitled "Shifting Images: Defining the Health Care Crisis in America" to the 25th annual meeting of the New England Popular Culture Association at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH.

In August 2002, Dr. Hackey attended the American Political Science Association's annual meeting to discuss his proposed book on social theory and health policy with various university presses. The book, tentatively titled COMPETING DIAGNOSES: PERSPECTIVES ON THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS examines the problems facing the American health care system from several theoretical perspectives. The volume will introduce readers to both mainstream and "alternative" perspectives on the nature of the health care crisis, including contemporary Marxist critiques, market competition, theories of political culture/communication, and insights from institutional economic theory drawn from the work of Thorstein Veblen.