Before the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions drew Concordia College’s health-related programs into a single location, Cobber Kate Syverson ’05 combined two into a double major with great synergy, flexibility, and growth potential.
Now she’s back at Concordia, bringing her expertise and experience in social work and healthcare management to her new role as program director and assistant professor of healthcare leadership.
“It’s been fun to be back on campus,” Syverson said. “The energy and momentum on campus is palpable, and the opportunity to be a part of this is really exciting.”
Syverson earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota and is certified in healthcare quality. She also has 20 years of experience working for Sanford Health, first as a licensed social worker and then as an integrated health therapist working with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to embed behavioral health services in primary care.
Her undergraduate work prepared her to move into leadership roles, and Syverson served as director of quality and safety at Sanford for five years, overseeing performance in quality payment programs, joint commission accreditation, and infection prevention and control. She also served as director of operations for multiple subspecialty clinics, leading and directing clinical and business operations.
Her previous work engaging learners in the classroom has included teaching at Minot State and North Dakota State, as well as serving as a faculty clinical instructor at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine.
She returned to Concordia in August, where she is teaching two courses — one on social work practice, and the other on healthcare systems.
“What drew me back to campus is that the college has prioritized interprofessional education,” Syverson said. “I believe this is going to set our students up with an even greater competitive advantage, whether they chose to go on to graduate school or enter a really competitive workforce.”
She credited her own Concordia education and the curiosity it instills in students for preparing her to lead in the healthcare field, even in uncertain times. Healthcare leadership is facing many challenges, including advancements in technology, workforce shortages, patient and employee safety, and rapidly evolving care delivery models.
“Our goal is that students enter the workforce prepared to leverage what they have learned to lead through the change that will be required to sustain our healthcare systems for generations to come,” Syverson said. “Contemporary healthcare is complicated and team-based and requires good problem-solving skills. The Heimarck Center brings everyone together in an academic setting and teaches them how to work together. This will undoubtedly set students apart.”
She is looking forward to fostering the growth of Concordia’s interdisciplinary Center for Population Health, which opened in fall 2024.
“We need creativity. The liberal arts education lends itself to that,” Syverson said. “Healthcare is constantly changing, and patients are living longer — it’s a great time to be interested in a health profession.”
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- Study healthcare leadership at Concordia
- Study social work at Concordia
- The Center for Population Health
- Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions