Program History
The Rothenberger Leadership Academy was launched collaboratively by Tom Gilliam, RN, MBA and David Rothenberger, MD under the name “Emerging Physician Leadership Program” (EPLP) in 2008. The program was an extension of the Rothenberger Lectureship that honors Dr. David Rothenberger's legacy of exemplary mentorship and leadership in patient safety and quality and organizational culture.
The goal of EPLP was to create sustained organizational impact by building a community of well-rounded, adaptive, servant leaders at the University of Minnesota. EPLP was designed as a longitudinal, cohort-based, three-year program, with 12 modules taking place over a day and a half each.
The University of Minnesota Medical School, Fairview and University of Minnesota Physicians jointly funded the program cost as EPLP quickly established itself as a highly effective and sought-after leadership development program for the organization.
Transition to RothLA
After a very successful run of 12 years with over 120 graduates from four cohorts, the program underwent a significant redesign in 2019. The new curriculum was modified in order to more effectively meet the needs of the merged clinical enterprise of M Health Fairview.
The fifth cohort of the newly named Rothenberger Leadership Academy, or RothLA, launched in 2021 with 34 cohort members. Cohort 5 was completed in June 2023.