Traci d’Auguste’s career path in healthcare started when she was in fifth grade. Her father suffered a cerebral aneurysm that left him in the intensive care unit for 36 days.
For more than a month, she and her mother and brother spent every day in the hospital. D’Auguste got to know the rhythms of nurses’ shifts, the low hum and steady beeps of monitors and equipment, and the quiet tension that hangs in hallways outside patient rooms.
“I really got an up-close and personal view of healthcare,” she said. “At that time, I thought I wanted to be a neurosurgeon.”
That early exposure set her course, but not in the way she first imagined.
“As I went through my college journey, I learned about healthcare management and the ability to impact thousands at once by supporting the care providers, building programs to better serve patients and educating the next generation. It felt like the best place for me to serve.”
Today, d’Auguste, leads one of Dallas’s premier hospitals as vice president and chief executive officer of UT Southwestern Medical Center’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. She oversees an organization known for its world-class care and rapid innovation. Her journey to one of the nation’s top healthcare leadership roles began at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business, where she earned a degree in health care management.
d’Auguste ’99, a member of the Culverhouse Board of Visitors, found the healthcare management track almost by chance, thanks to a relative who worked in human resources for a Birmingham healthcare company. She was drawn to the program’s mix of business fundamentals and mission-driven purpose. Culverhouse professors like Dr. Ron Dulek and others in management helped her see how leadership, finance, and operations could directly translate into better patient outcomes.
“I loved how diverse the field was,” she said. “You could combine it with healthcare law, accounting, IT. There were just so many different directions your career could take.”
Her time at Culverhouse also prepared her for the realities of leadership. d’Auguste remembers the program’s competitive Capstone class, where teams ran a simulated international shoe company. “It was stressful but it really pushed us to make decisions, work collaboratively, and think strategically,” she said with a laugh. “Those lessons translate well.”
After earning her degree from Alabama, d’Auguste continued her education with a dual masters degree at UAB before completing a two-year administrative fellowship, first at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and then the University of Virginia Health System, with the same CEO. She’s built an impressive career across some of the country’s leading academic hospitals: nearly a decade at New York-Presbyterian, followed by leadership roles at the University of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center, and UF Health Shands in Gainesville, Florida.
This year, she took on her most ambitious role of leading the top-ranked hospital in Dallas. Her strategic focus includes improving patient access and flow across the system and leveraging technology to enhance both patient and caregiver experiences.
For students at Culverhouse considering a path in healthcare management, d’Auguste has a simple message: the field has never been more vital or more exciting.
“It’s a career that challenges you every day, but it’s also one of the most rewarding,” d’Auguste said. “Healthcare is always evolving, and we’re always going to need talented people who want to make a difference – as healthcare and the need for it isn’t going anywhere.”
She often returns to campus for football games and visits, carrying both nostalgia and pride in how far the program—and her profession—has come.
“It all started at Alabama,” she said. “That’s where I first realized that business and compassion could come together—and that’s been my guiding force ever since.”