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Health Services Policy and Management (HSPM) is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the promotion of personal and public health through planning, organizing, directing, controlling, coordinating and evaluating health services.
June 6, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Fifteen years after his grandfather’s passing, Will Owings still gets approached by the beloved doctor’s patients when he’s back in his hometown. Members of the Spartanburg community share stories with Owings about how the endocrinologist profoundly impacted their lives as both a physician and an individual.
“Witnessing the lasting legacy of his compassion and commitment to his patients inspired me from a young age to pursue a career that allows me to help others live longer, healthier lives,” Owings says. “As I grew older, I came to realize I could make an even greater impact by addressing health care from an administrative perspective, which ultimately led me to pursue my Master of Health Administration (MHA).”
High school mentors and advisors recommended USC for pursuing a career in this field, and Owings chose public health for his bachelor’s degree. The MHA program offered by the Arnold School’ Department of Health Services Policy and Administration was the logical next step.
“The Arnold School’s academic reputation, coupled with the generations of USC graduates in my family and my desire to advance health care in South Carolina, made USC an easy choice,” Owings says.
During his master’s program, Owings joined the American College of Healthcare Executives, participated in The Ohio State University Case Competition, and led USC’s Healthcare Leadership Association as president. At the school level, he served on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council and MHA Advisory Board and represented his department with the USC Institute for Health Improvement.
I intend to utilize the knowledge, resources, and relationships I have gained from my time at USC to attempt at making a meaningful impact wherever I go.
Off campus, Owings gained administrative experience through graduate assistantships with Prisma Health and Lexington Medical Center (LMC). He found a mentor in LMC Operations Vice President Jay Hamm, who is an Arnold School alumnus (MHA, ’00) and adjunct faculty member.
“Despite his demanding schedule, Jay continually seeks to prioritize the development of future health care leaders, and he singlehandedly changed the course of my future career,” Owings says. “In addition to Jay, the entire HSPM faculty is exceptional and cannot be replicated at any other program around the state. These educators share a common mission, and that is to give their students the tools they need to succeed professionally. I am both lucky and proud to have been shaped by such a passionate and dedicated group of faculty members.”
Owings graduated in May with a 4.0 GPA and is the recipient of his department’s Susie B. Yates Award for Excellence in Scholarship and the Arnold School’s Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Contributions to Access and Collective Engagement in Research or Practice. His administrative fellowship with LMC begins this month, and he’s also working toward a Doctor of Health Administration degree at Oklahoma State University so he can advance health in South Carolina even more.
“With anything I do, I desire to improve the health and well-being of the people in
our communities,” Owings says. “My experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings
has illustrated how different parts of the health care system play critical roles
in that objective. I am passionate about optimizing operations, improving access to
care, and ensuring patients receive the highest quality of that care. I intend to
utilize the knowledge, resources, and relationships I have gained from my time at
USC to attempt at making a meaningful impact wherever I go.”
