Dr. Vasconez celebrates MBA from Gatton School as a panel judge for Cosmetic Surgery marketing
In addition to earning his Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Gatton School of Business and Economics at UK at the end of 2020, Dr. Henry Vasconez, professor of surgery in the division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, was invited to apply his new degree as panel member reviewing marketing proposals from fellow Gatton school students promoting UK’s Cosmetic Surgery service line.
Dr. Vasconez, a respected plastic surgeon and former chief of the division, was inspired by the example of fellow colleagues in the UK Department of Surgery to add an MBA to his list of academic degrees.
He had no other motivation other than intellectual curiosity to pursue this advanced degree, he said. “It was something I had thought about doing for years. When I saw other surgeons taking time to earn their MBA, I went ahead and enrolled,” Dr. Vasconez said.
During his first year, the professor of his Marketing 600 class, Dr. Leslie Vincent, assigned teams to develop marketing plans for various Lexington businesses. During that project, Dr. Vasconez mentioned that a section of UK HealthCare-Turfland was being renovated for its Cosmetic Surgery Clinic and there wo.
As a result, the assignment for students in the Marketing 600 class the following year was to develop competing plans to promote UK Cosmetic Surgery Associates, Dr. Vasconez said. Seven teams made presentations as their final exam on Wednesday, November 18 with division chief Dr. David Drake joining Dr. Vincent and Dr. Vasconez as the panel. Following presentations, teams were subject to a Q&A session to defend their marketing plan.
While intended to be an academic exercise, Dr. Vasconez said the opportunity to hear ideas from a range of professionals about enhancing public awareness of this longstanding UK service was a pleasant bonus to earning his MBA degree.
Dr. Vasconez will participate in a virtual graduation ceremony after the Thanksgiving break.
