Beginning in September, two of Cleveland’s top institutions will come together to offer a program for those with a mind for both business and health care. CWRU Weatherhead School of Management and the Cleveland Clinic announced on Thursday that the two will partner to offer an executive MBA program with a focus on health care.

“This is just an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while,” says Simon Peck, associate dean for Weatherhead’s MBA programs and associate professor in the management school’s design and innovation department. “It’s taking an existing MBA program that’s always been highly rated and collaborating with the Cleveland Clinic. I think it’s crazy we’re not doing more in this area.”

The program will target students who have both an interest in business and the growing health care sector. With a top academic institution and a top hospital system both located so close together, and with the partnership in the medical education campus, the partnership only made sense, says Peck.

“This is the first time Weatherhead School of Management and the Cleveland Clinic have partnered so closely,” he says. “I saw a need for leadership in an MBA with a focus on healthcare. You can’t just be a fantastic doctor and pick up the skills to run a hospital.” But Peck also stresses the eMBA program is not just for physicians -- the need for executives in health care is growing in all areas.

The 20-month academic program consists of 16 sessions over five semesters. Classes meet three days a month. Classroom sessions meet at both the Weatherhead and Clinic campuses.

Applications are due by June 15. For more information, contact Stephen Scheidt, director of admissions at the Weatherhead School.