Moravian University bestows honorary degree upon Rick Anderson, president and CEO of St Luke's University Health Network

On Thursday, September 21, a day that saw the dedication of Moravian University’s newest academic building, the Sally Briedegam Miksiewicz Center for Health Sciences, the college presented Richard Anderson, president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network, the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Anderson began his tenure as president and CEO of St. Luke’s in 1985, making him the longest-serving health care network leader in Pennsylvania. During his tenure, he has overseen the growth of a single, well-respected community hospital into one of the largest geographically distributed and nationally recognized integrated health care networks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Under Anderson’s leadership, St. Luke’s has received more than 120 national awards for quality, including being named among the 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics four times. For the past several years, U.S. News & World Report has recognized St. Luke’s in its annual “Best Hospitals” lists.

Of Anderson’s guiding principles and contributions, Kerry Cheever, professor and chair of the department of nursing and health at Moravian University says, “Rick Anderson’s philosophy is echoed in his words, ‘St. Luke’s is more than bricks and mortar. It is people.’ He believes that developing and promoting the right team of people at all levels is the recipe to ensuring that patient care is of the best quality. Under his leadership, St. Luke’s launched the Lehigh Valley’s sole regional medical school campus, in partnership with Temple University, which graduated its first class of students in 2015.”

Anderson has also been instrumental in guiding, mentoring, and developing the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at Moravian University. Under his leadership, and with the contributions of many of his St. Luke’s colleagues, each of the college’s eight current nursing programs was launched, enrolling nearly 400 students today.

President Grigsby presented the honorary degree to Anderson who accepted the honor with humility. “Wow,” he said. “I am humbled, honored, and so grateful. Words cannot describe my feelings. My family is here...my colleagues. It doesn’t get any better than this.”