Lanis L. Hicks, PhD, is renowned as a health care educator and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri. She initially pursued an education at the School of the Ozarks, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. Continuing her studies at the University of Missouri with the intention to complete a master’s degree and teach high school, Dr. Hicks instead graduated with a PhD on the advice of a professor in 1975.
From 1974 to 1976, Dr. Hicks began her career a health care planning specialist for the State of Missouri before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University from 1976 to 1977. She subsequently excelled at the University of Missouri as a lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor and full professor of health economics between 1979 and 2016. Following these appointments, Dr. Hicks was proudly designated with professor emeritus status from the aforementioned university.
Dr. Hicks has been active as a short-term professional working with the World Health Organization in Geneva since 2003. She further flourished as a former consultant for clients including the United Nations Development Program and the Pan American Health Organization. A frequent contributor to professional journals, Dr. Hicks authored “An Economic Approach to Rationing Health Care Resources” in 1985 and “The Role of the Nurse in Managed Care,” which was honored as the winner of the 1994 American Nurses Association Book of the Year.
Likewise, Dr. Hicks has accepted grants from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Health Resources and Services Administration. She additionally was presented with a 2014 Gold Chalk Award from the University of Missouri. Moreover, Dr. Hicks is a member of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and the National Rural Health Association.
Dr. Hicks would like to be remembered as being legitimately concerned about people’s welfare and their advancement, as well as her own. What motivates her is the excitement of learning that the health care industry is changing rapidly and intensely, and that it was always a challenge to keep up and see how she could have an impact on improving it. Dr. Hicks advises others to be willing to work hard and not take short cuts.