Honoring the 2024 HCAD Alumni Association Award Recipients

Trinity University's Health Care Administration (HCAD) Alumni Association will gather from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, October 25, in the Korbell Great Hall inside the Chapman Center for its annual dinner and awards ceremony to honor the recipients of the 2024 Duce and Momentum Awards.

The Duce Award honors a graduate of the HCAD program who has shown outstanding leadership and made significant contributions to the field of health services administration. The award is presented annually and is named after Dean Leonard A. Duce, a former dean of the graduate school at Trinity and one of the program's founding faculty members.

The Momentum Award recognizes early careerists age 40 and under for outstanding achievements in the field of healthcare management.

The Duce Award

Doug Lawson M'93, Ph.D.

Doug Lawson is currently responsible for the South Region of CommonSpirit Health. In this role, he leads a team of more than 40,000 employees, providers, caregivers, medical staff, and volunteers in an integrated health network of 35 acute care hospitals, more than 8,000 employed and aligned providers, and over 500 ambulatory access points serving Arkansas, North Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Southeast Tennessee, and Texas.

Lawson began his healthcare career at Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic in Temple, Texas. He served five years at Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City as system vice president, followed by three years at Cabell-Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, as chief operating officer.

Lawson returned to Texas in 2007 as president of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Grapevine. In 2012, he took on the chief operating officer role at Baylor University Medical Center, and in 2015 he was named president of the medical center and the North Texas Central Region. In 2018, Lawson joined Catholic Health Initiatives, now CommonSpirit Health, as senior vice president of Operations and chief executive officer of St. Luke's Health System - Texas Division. In July 2023, he assumed responsibility for the CommonSpirit Health newly combined South Region.

Lawson served on a number of boards across Houston, including the American Heart Association for the Greater Houston Division, where he serves as president. Lawson is also a board member of the Texas Hospital Association, where he works in collaboration with other members on key state and federal health policy issues; the Greater Houston Partnership, where he sits on the Racial Equity Committee; and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where he serves as secretary.

Lawson was named a Most Admired CEO in Texas in 2021 by the Houston Business Journal and received the 2020 Exceptional Leader Award from Texas CEO Magazine. In 2021, he was presented with a Special Recognition Award from the Latino Learning Center for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawson also led a 12-part video series collaboration between St. Luke's Health and Houston Public Media. The series, TESTED, provides an in-depth view of how the COVID-19 pandemic changed Houston's healthcare landscape. In 2021, the series earned an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Art and Sciences in the category of Health/Medical Short or Long Form Content.

In 2022, the Texas Hospital Association presented Lawson with its highest honor: the Earl M. Collier Award for Distinguished Health Care Administration. This career achievement award recognizes executives who have set themselves apart through their contributions to the healthcare industry.

Lawson attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science. He went on to earn a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from Trinity University and a doctorate in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University.

The Momentum Award

Jared Shelton M'10, FACHE

Jared Shelton serves as president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital HEB, where he joined the leadership team in July 2022.

Shelton previously served six years as president of Texas Health Allen. Before that, he served a term as vice president of Professional & Support Services for Texas Health Dallas.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University with a bachelor's degree in business and a minor in religion. He earned a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from Trinity University.

Shelton currently serves as the Regent for District 4 of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a past president of the North Texas Chapter of ACHE. He is serving his third term on the Texas Hospital Association's "Council on Policy Development" and is currently president-elect of the HEB Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is a graduate of the Leadership Allen Fairview Class XXVIII as well as Allen ISD Leadership Academy Class II and serves in various leadership roles at the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas.

Outside of work, Shelton and his wife, Kathryn, enjoy parenthood with their young children-Mackenzie, Caroline, and Jack.

Do you know any outstanding Trinity HCAD alumni working in health care? Nominate a deserving Tiger for the Duce Award or the Momentum Award here.