Caroline Pogge, MHA, DrPH, whose career spans health-system leadership, military service, and academia, is being inducted into the University of Kentucky (UK) Alumni Association’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni—one of the university’s highest honors. With a career marked by transformative quality initiatives, dedicated service as an Army officer, and an enduring commitment to mentorship, Dr. Pogge continues to inspire and shape the next generation of public health professionals.
“I was super surprised, humbled, grateful,” Dr. Pogge said when reflecting on the honor. “It was a real honor to receive the recognition. But I also recognize it’s an honor that’s not just mine. I just happen to be the name in the spotlight for the moment. It was definitely a community effort.”
Finding Her Way to UK
Caroline Pogge’s journey to UK began during her time as an Army ROTC cadet at Tulane University, where a fellow cadet from Richmond, Kentucky, introduced her to UK. She was drawn to the strength of the health administration program (then a part of the Martin School and now part of the College of Public Health) and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience as a graduate assistant with Dr. Richard Schwartz in the Department of Surgery—an experience that would shape her understanding of healthcare operations and leadership.
A Career Bridging Sectors
After earning her MHA, Dr. Pogge completed a year-long administrative residency at Guthrie Health’s Robert Packer Hospital, where she worked alongside senior executives to gain hands-on experience in healthcare operations, strategy, and leadership. This immersive training quickly propelled her into management roles across the health system.
Her dual paths in healthcare and the military converged in 2003, when she was deployed to Iraq as part of her service in the U.S. Army Reserve. While serving as a Civil Affairs officer, she identified a critical gap in leadership training among Iraqi health officials.
“One of the things that came to light was many of the folks stepping into leadership roles were clinically very skilled, but not business- and leadership-wise," she said. "Resulting in a big gap that I saw needed to be filled.”
To address that deficiency, Pogge leaned on her University of Kentucky mentors—Dr. Tom Samuels and Dr. Joe Lee—and her broader UK alumni network. She recalls asking, “Hey, can I throw this problem out to my UK community and see if somebody can help me?”. Nine times out of 10, colleagues not only offered to help but delivered workable solutions. With the materials and guidance from her UK colleagues, she designed a focused, two-week leadership bootcamp tailored for the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
Her military career, where she currently holds the rank of Colonel, has deeply shaped her leadership philosophy.
“One of the things the military stresses is education— building on that foundation that you started with as a cadet—to be a stronger leader at each level," she said.
Dr. Pogge credits her dual careers with giving her the confidence to take risks and the resilience to lead in high-stakes environments.
“In some cases, it’s given me a bit of a parachute to maybe take some risks that I may not have had if I just had a singular career,” she said.
Teaching with Real-World Perspective
Now a faculty member at Fordham University, Dr. Pogge brings her health-system leadership experience into every lecture. She often structures her sessions around storytelling and role-play to help students develop empathy and real-world skills.
“What I love most about teaching is watching students connect theory to real people seeing them grow in confidence as they tackle complex challenges with empathy,” she said.
In her classroom, students practice delivering difficult news, soliciting feedback from colleagues, and co-designing patient-centered processes. Dr. Pogge emphasizes that leadership is about empathy, integrity, and navigating difficult situations.
“The real key to the process is the human dynamic—how patients are engaged, how providers are engaged, and how they engage each other.”
Looking back, Dr. Pogge said, she is most proud of bringing up that next generation and always making time for those that will come after me.
“I want to retire comfortably, and for me, part of comfortably is with the peace of mind knowing that the job’s being taken care by competent and confident leaders,” she said.
Mentorship in Action
In 2014, Caroline hosted MHA student George Zhang for a summer internship in her health system’s quality department.
“George is amazing and an incredibly energetic person. He is super thoughtful— a proactive leader who just has a compassion for people that is so wonderful to see in leadership,” she said.
Their relationship evolved from mentor–mentee to trusted peers—and now to philanthropic partners. Caroline approached George and his wife, Callie (also a UK MHA grad), with the idea of creating a scholarship to support emerging healthcare leaders. Together, they established the Pogge–Zhang Professional Scholarship Fund, which will begin awarding scholarships in 2030 to MHA students who demonstrate financial need and express interest in mentorship opportunities.
While the endowed portion of the fund will launch in 2030, non-endowed support is already helping sustain the annual etiquette dinner tradition for MHA students—a program George initiated to help future leaders build confidence in professional settings.
"This scholarship focuses on the mentor–mentee relationship and creates a legacy in perpetuity," George said. "The most important thing we can do in our careers is not only to serve our patients, but also to develop the next generation.”
Advice for Future Leaders
Dr. Pogge's message to current UK students is to “just do it and expand your horizons."
“See where life takes you. Take a leap and trust yourself and your network to support you,” she said.
From Kentucky classrooms to war-zone clinics, from health system boardrooms to university lecture halls, Caroline Pogge’s career reflects the values of service, mentorship, and lifelong learning that define the College of Public Health—and the enduring connections between alumni, faculty, and students that continue to strengthen the CPH community.
