AdventHealth University names new president

Josef Ghosn, EdD, will become AdventHealth University’s third president and CEO on May 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees selected Ghosn after a months-long, national search.

“This is very exciting for the future of AdventHealth University,” said Randy Haffner, president and CEO of AdventHealth Florida and chair of AHU’s Board of Trustees. “Dr. Ghosn’s unique combination of educational and health care leadership made him the ideal candidate to carry on the exceptional 30-year legacy of AdventHealth University.”

Dr. Ghosn has extensive leadership experience in health care administration, serving most recently as vice president of strategic planning for AdventHealth’s Multistate Division and before that as AdventHealth Orlando’s senior vice president for strategic planning. He’s been a tenured professor and associate dean of academic affairs at Atlantic Union College as well as holding professorships at AHU and Southern Adventist University. Dr. Ghosn earned his doctoral degree in education leadership from the University of Massachusetts and his master’s degree in business administration from Andrews University.

“I am deeply honored to accept this role,” Dr. Ghosn said. “AHU is a very special place, where we have a unique opportunity to be a vital part of the solution to health-care workforce shortages by amplifying student enrollment. Now is an incredibly powerful time to pursue a rewarding career in health care, and I look forward to working closely with AHU’s faculty and staff to discover new ways to embrace technology, impart whole-person care philosophies and keep the student at the center of all we do.”

The presidential search process began earlier this year with 13 candidates evaluated by a committee that included student, faculty and Board of Trustees representation. Dr. Ghosn succeeds Edwin I. Hernandez, PhD, who served as AHU president since 2017.

AdventHealth University, with locations in Orlando and Denver, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.