Adam and Shira Boehler have made a $5 million founding gift to establish the Boehler Program in Healthcare Entrepreneurship and Innovation, an integrated academic program anchored at the Owen Graduate School of Management designed to advance Vanderbilt’s leadership in healthcare entrepreneurship and innovation education. Known as HCEi, the program will combine Vanderbilt’s strengths in business, medicine, technology and policy within the uniquely dynamic healthcare ecosystem of Nashville—home to the largest concentration of healthcare companies in the United States.
HCEi will offer a highly selective, integrated academic experience preparing exceptional Vanderbilt students to lead across the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape—from clinical technology and care delivery transformation to healthcare investment and entrepreneurship. The program also will draw on Vanderbilt’s expanding presence in other key markets, including New York, San Francisco and West Palm Beach, extending student access to employers, investors and alumni nationally.
“Healthcare increasingly demands leaders who understand medicine and technology as well as business, policy and operations,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “Adam and Shira Boehler’s generosity will allow Vanderbilt to bring these strengths together in a rigorous, hands-on program that draws on Nashville’s extraordinary healthcare ecosystem to prepare students to build companies, lead organizations and improve how care is delivered.”
A signature academic model
Students who demonstrate extraordinary leadership, initiative, teamwork and academic excellence will be selected at the end of their sophomore year through a competitive application process. Those chosen will complete an integrated course of study culminating in dual credentials: a Vanderbilt undergraduate degree with a business minor and a Master of Management degree from Owen Graduate School of Management with a concentration in healthcare entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Healthcare increasingly demands leaders who understand medicine and technology as well as business, policy and operations. Adam and Shira Boehler’s generosity will allow Vanderbilt to bring these strengths together in a rigorous, hands-on program that draws on Nashville’s extraordinary healthcare ecosystem to prepare students to build companies, lead organizations and improve how care is delivered.”
The curriculum will include select cohort-specific courses designed exclusively for program participants that will create deeper interdisciplinary learning across business, medicine and technology, equipping students to operate at the intersection of those fields. Over its first five years, the program anticipates graduating up to 100 students, scaling toward approximately 30 students annually by year five while preserving selectivity and experiential rigor.
“This gift gives us the opportunity to build something truly distinctive: a comprehensive academic program focused on understanding the most pressing challenges in healthcare and developing disruptive solutions,” said Tom Steenburgh, Ralph Owen Dean of Owen Graduate School of Management. “By bringing together Owen’s strength in business with Vanderbilt’s expertise in medicine, technology and policy—and Nashville’s unmatched healthcare ecosystem—HCEi will prepare graduates to shape the future of healthcare.”
Focus areas designed for builders
The program is expected to emphasize five areas, each culminating in a professional-grade deliverable: (1) healthcare entrepreneurship and company building; (2) healthcare technology, data and artificial intelligence; (3) healthcare policy and regulation; (4) value-based operations and execution; and (5) healthcare investment banking, venture capital and private equity. Students will produce company formation and operating model plans, AI deployment strategies for healthcare organizations, reimbursement and regulatory strategy memoranda, operational improvement plans and investment memoranda—the last presented to investor judges at a Company Ideas Day.
Experiential learning in the nation’s healthcare capital
Through applied projects, industry partnerships and direct engagement with operators, investors and policymakers, students will gain hands-on experience across care delivery, technology and capital formation. The selective cohort structure will ensure rigorous academic standards while fostering deep collaboration among students, faculty and industry partners.
A lifelong network and global impact
HCEi students will learn alongside one another across academic, professional and social experiences, supported by programming designed to foster collaboration, mentorship and shared ambition. Over time, the program will cultivate a highly connected alumni network spanning healthcare delivery, biotechnology, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, consulting and beyond. Graduates will be builders and collaborators—many launching ventures or joining early-stage companies, others leading within established organizations. That community will remain deeply engaged with Vanderbilt, supporting current students through mentorship, internships and career opportunities.
“This gift gives us the opportunity to build something truly distinctive: a comprehensive academic program focused on understanding the most pressing challenges in healthcare and developing disruptive solutions. By bringing together Owen’s strength in business with Vanderbilt’s expertise in medicine, technology and policy—and Nashville’s unmatched healthcare ecosystem—HCEi will prepare graduates to shape the future of healthcare.”
“We moved our family to Nashville five years ago and the city welcomed us with open arms,” Adam and Shira Boehler said. “We have experienced true care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and our family strongly believes in community. We have a unique opportunity to combine our backgrounds in healthcare entrepreneurship with both Nashville’s amazing healthcare community and Vanderbilt University’s incredible academic programs to create the next generation of builders who will shape the future of health.”
“I had the pleasure of hosting Adam and Shira when they first moved to Nashville and supported the launch of Rubicon Founders,” said former Sen. Bill Frist. “The Boehlers embody the generosity, vision and community spirit that make Nashville such a special place. Their investment in Vanderbilt will advance this important initiative and create a lasting impact for generations to come. I am proud to see them carry forward Nashville’s tradition of healthcare leadership and innovation.”
About the donors
Adam Boehler is an entrepreneur and investor who has dedicated his career to building healthcare companies and government service. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Rubicon Founders, a Nashville-based healthcare investment firm that combines private and public sector strengths to build and scale transformative healthcare businesses. Before that, he founded multiple healthcare companies, including Landmark Health, which grew into the largest home-based medical care provider in the country and was acquired by UnitedHealth Group in 2021. In public service, Boehler served as Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and Deputy Administrator of CMS, was a founding member of Operation Warp Speed, and in 2019 became the first CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation after unanimous Senate confirmation. He later served as a negotiator in the Abraham Accords and, as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Response, has helped to secure the release of 193 wrongly detained Americans and allies held captive abroad.
Shira Kupperman Boehler is a finance professional, health advocate, lung cancer survivor and New York Times bestselling author of One Scan Saved My Life, on a mission to change how America detects and thinks about the disease. She earned a degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has worked alongside her husband, Adam, to build and scale multibillion-dollar healthcare businesses while developing deep relationships across health systems, payers and policymakers.
The Boehlers live in Nashville with their four children.
Dare to Grow
The Boehlers’ investment was inspired by and contributed to the tremendous momentum of Vanderbilt’s historic Dare to Grow campaign. Support for Dare to Grow has fueled some of the university’s most groundbreaking initiatives, including the Institute of National Security, Vandy United, Vanderbilt’s enhanced presence in New York City, San Francisco, Chattanooga and West Palm Beach and signature programs like Opportunity Vanderbilt and residential colleges.