Joshua Lahav, MBA ’20, is the associate vice president of Cancer Center Operations at Fox Chase Cancer Center. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Lahav)
Ever since the start of his career, Joshua Lahav has been determined to make an impact as a healthcare operations leader.
And when he learned of a way to advance his career credentials while working at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in the summer of 2016, he couldn’t pass it up.
“By the time I began working at Fox Chase, I had already gained experience working in several health organizations within the Philadelphia region,” Lahav says.
“As I gained experience within my role as business operations manager, I recognized that there were some hard skills and business-oriented knowledge that I still wanted to elevate for myself.”
Lahav decided to pursue his MBA at the Fox School of Business.
And he’s been soaring ever since.
Utilizing Temple University’s robust tuition remission program for eligible employees, Lahav enrolled in the Fox School’s MBA program in 2017. Despite already accomplishing much in the early stages of his career, he saw the opportunity to advance his professional growth within his field.
“I have always believed that it is important to be a lifelong learner, and I had gotten to a point in my career where I felt that I was ready to pursue an advancement to my credentials,” Lahav says. “When I was presented with the opportunity to pursue an MBA at Fox, it was a no-brainer for me.”
Designed for industry leaders who are seeking to enhance their leadership skills, strategic thinking and business acumen, the Fox MBA program allows driven professionals to advance their careers with a cutting-edge curriculum and global perspective. Pillars of the program include innovative teaching, experiential learning, world-class faculty and access to a strong alumni network.
“I maintained full-time work while enrolled in the program—my wife and I had our first child while I was in the program—I even switched jobs while I was in the program. The Fox School does a great job at working with its graduate students to tailor individualized pathways to success.”
Lahav’s accomplishments in the healthcare operations industry showcase how the program can benefit any business professional, regardless of their area of expertise.
“I entered the program to strengthen my analytical and financial skills, learn to better drive operational improvements, think more strategically and lead through change,” Lahav says. “Equally valuable was how it fostered my development as a leader of people in my industry.”
The program’s flexibility, which includes offering students the chance to pursue their degree on either a full-time or part-time path, in-person or fully online, was keen to the success Lahav found while earning his degree.
“The adaptability of the program allowed me to complete courses at my own pace,” Lahav says. “I maintained full-time work while enrolled in the program—my wife and I had our first child while I was in the program—I even switched jobs while I was in the program. The Fox School does a great job at working with its graduate students to tailor individualized pathways to success.”
That job change included working within the University of Pennsylvania Health System where he took on the role of director of clinical operations for radiation oncology while completing his MBA.
Lahav has since returned to the Temple community. He currently serves as associate vice president of the Cancer Center Operations at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
“I feel very fortunate to be back with the exceptional institution that is Fox Chase. It is an organization that never waivers in its dedication to ground-breaking research and exceptional patient care,” Lahav says. “My role really breaks down into two key components: one, focused on the core operations and teams that support our hospital, ambulatory and research facilities, and two, focused on our strategic initiatives to help drive program growth, access and patient experience.”
As Lahav continues his career progression, he finds himself utilizing his advanced degree expertise nearly every day, specifically for him in his understanding of organizational strategy and analytical skills.
“Beyond the formal education that I received from the MBA program, it also offered me crucial insights into how to align cross-functional and diverse teams, make data driven decisions, and what it means to truly lead in an organization,” Lahav says.
Now a third-generation Temple graduate within his family, he endorses the program for anyone looking to advance not just their career progression, but their personal development as a professional, too.
“I will always be very thankful for my experience in the Fox MBA program,” says Lahav. “In addition to assisting in the advancement of my career, I found that the program offered me exposure to courses, people, ideas and methodologies that I might have otherwise never come across.”