James R. Knickman, president and chief executive officer of the New York State Health Foundation, is an active philanthropy executive, a national expert on health policy, and a leading contributor to literature assessing the impact of philanthropic and social investments on healthcare improvement.

On Wednesday, April 4, 2007, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service will present the “Kovner/Behrman Healthcare Forum: A Conversation with James R. Knickman.” The annual Kovner/Behrman Forum, which has featured distinguished and influential healthcare leaders in each of the past 10 years, will take place 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Wagner School’s home in the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Lower Manhattan @ Houston Street.

Knickman currently serves as chairman of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System in New Brunswick, N.J. He is the former vice president for research and evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he served for the past 14 years. As the President and CEO of the NYS Health Foundation, Knickman is at the head of an increasingly influential organization that provides grants to healthcare projects that address one or more of the three elements of its mission: (1) expanding health insurance coverage, (2) increasing access to high-quality health care services to vulnerable populations, and (3) improving public and community health. In its inaugural round of grant-making in December, 2006, the Foundation awarded $5.7 million in grants to 23 worthy grantees.

Anthony Kovner, who will moderate the presentation, is professor of public and health management at NYU Wagner. He is currently a board member of the Lutheran Medical Center and a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Professor Kovner has been a senior manager in two hospitals, a nursing home, a group practice, and a neighborhood health center, as well as a senior health care consultant for a large industrial union. He has also made valuable contributions to the healthcare management community through numerous articles and books on health services management, hospital governance, health regulation, and hospital budgeting.

  • WHO: James R. Knickman, president and CEO, New York State Health Foundation; and Anthony Kovner, professor of public and health management, NYU Wagner.
  • WHAT: The 11th Annual Kovner/Behrman Healthcare Forum, A Conversation with James R. Knickman.
  • WHERE: The Puck Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 295 Lafayette Street
  • WHEN: Wednesday, April 4th, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at https://www.nyu.edu/wagner/events/kovner.php


Established in 1938, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service offers advanced programs leading to the professional degrees of Master of Public Administration, Master of Urban Planning, Master of Science in Management, and Doctor of Philosophy. Through these rigorous programs, NYU Wagner educates the future leaders of public, nonprofit, and health institutions as well as private organizations serving the public sector. http://wagner.nyu.edu

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