Paula H. Song, PhD, MHSA, MA

College of Public Health Dean Paula Song is a gifted scholar whose researcher interests are centered on the financial management of health care organizations and the impact of payment policies on patient and provider experiences. Her research has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed publications, and she has authored or coauthored several book chapters and multiple editions of leading health care finance textbooks.

Song most recently served as the Richard M. Bracken Chair of the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was also a professor and served as interim dean of the College of Health Professions from 2023-24. Previously, she was the director of residential master’s programs in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was an associate professor. Song began her faculty career at Ohio State in 2007 as an assistant professor in the Division of Health Services Management and Policy.

Song earned her PhD in health services organization and policy, her master’s degree in applied economics and her Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. Song worked as a health care administrator before joining academia.