For its dedication to empowering employees across the university, the Employee Success Center was given the from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). The award honors transformative thinking in higher education human resources, recognizing a new and innovative HR team, project or program that resulted in significant and ongoing organizational change within an institution.

“Receiving this award is such an honor to the Employee Success Center team,” said Laura McDaniels, interim director of the Employee Success Center. “It highlights our dedication and the thoughtful work that we put into building programs that encourage connection and engagement across campus.”

The Employee Success Center fosters that engaged and growth-oriented culture at UofL with several forward-thinking initiatives, such as a year-long onboarding process designed to help new employees integrate more fully into university life, leadership development, mentoring and career guidance for all employee groups, along with new and innovative recognition programs.

The center also received recognition earlier this year from the for its efforts to support and recognize employees through its people-centered initiatives, including new staff awards and CARDGrams, university-themed e-cards designed to make daily employee recognition simple, accessible and meaningful. Over 7,500 e-cards have been sent in recognition of colleagues since CARDGrams launched. Additionally, 95% of employees who participated in career coaching sessions reported a stronger sense of belonging.

“These recognitions and successes inspire us to continue creating experiences that strengthen our university community,” McDaniels said.

When the Employee Success Center began in 2020, McDaniels saw annual recognition methods and awards in place, but no way for employees to be recognized in a daily, on-the-spot manner. She began creating an easy tool, using Microsoft and four initial card designs, that could send personalized appreciation through email. Thus, the was born.

“Research says that a highly rated reason people leave a job is because they didn’t feel appreciated,” said McDaniels, who also is a certified facilitator of Workplace Appreciation Languages. “Sometimes we get really bogged down with heavy workloads, and we just don’t think to take time to write an appreciative note. Having this tool makes it easier for our employees to find ways to support each other.”

Since the program started, almost 7,500 CARDGrams have been sent, whether by individuals or by schools within UofL who see the chance to encourage all students in their department. Participation tends to rise around a holiday or the change of season.

“Last Thanksgiving, I decided to create a fall-themed thankfulness card design and put it in UofL Today the Monday before the holiday,” she said. “I believe we had about 250 sent out in three days. That was extremely exciting, so I did it again this year, and had about 350.”

As engagement grows, McDaniels aims to design several new cards to keep things fresh so folks can have more options to fill someone’s inbox with color and kindness.

“The program has sparked the interest of other universities, and getting that feedback is a great feeling.” McDaniels said. “We hope the CARDGram becomes a household name around campus, known by everyone—and I think we’re starting to get there.”

CARDGrams can be found on the . Make someone’s day with a little encouragement!

To support the development and growth of leaders at the university, the Employee Success Center in partnership with the College of ����ֱ�� & Human Development facilitates the Cardinal Leadership Institute, which cultivates university leaders who understand the university’s vision and can effectively foster its growth.

The 2023 Cardinal Leadership Institute cohort included 21 UofL faculty and staff who recently celebrated completion of the five-month program. This year’s institute graduates are:

• Tammy Albers, School of Public Health and Information Sciences
• Shirin Bolhari, Procurement Card Team
• Johanna Boone, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Nacetia N. Burke, Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science
• Priscilla Calvo Castillo, University Housing
• Jody Carroll, Office of Technology Transfer and the Office of Industry Engagement
• April Clark, Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science
• Jennifer A. Coffey, School of Medicine
• Kari L. Donahue, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Christopher Dye, College of Business
• Heather Egan, University of Louisville Police Department
• Stephen Fairley, University Advancement
• Adora Burdette Hicks, Athletics
• Jacek B. Jasinski, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Brittney M. Luckett, School of Medicine
• Manjiri Menezes, College of Business
• Natalie Oliner, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Cecilia Peredo, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Edwina Lynn Peterson, School of Medicine
• Kaitlyn Robinson, School of Medicine
• Erica Walsh, Office of Communications and Marketing

“We believe that an institute of higher learning should be a place where everyone – not just students – have opportunities to learn, grow and succeed personally and professionally,” said Brian Buford, executive director of university culture and employee success.

Buford serves as a Cardinal Leadership Institute faculty member along with Meagan West, training specialist for the Employee Success Center; Douglas Craddock, vice president of community engagement; as well as Ann Herd and Matt Bergman, both clinical associate professors in the Department of ����ֱ��al Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development. Institute curriculum consists of online and in-person sessions and focuses on supporting organizational change; leadership and management; diversity, equity and inclusion; coaching and talent development; and university culture and values.

Kaitlyn Robinson, a project manager in the School of Medicine, was encouraged by her supervisor, Glenn Gittings, to participate in the institute. According to Robinson, she realized that if she wanted to see change and be a part of change at the university level, she needed to find ways to better support herself as a leader.

“The Cardinal Leadership Institute challenged me to rethink stances on situations where leaders are often forced to make difficult decisions and helped me identify ways to encourage change at our university,” said Robinson. “It also challenged me to look more deeply at my overall wellbeing by way of establishing routines that can help to reenergize myself despite the heavy tasks we all face daily in our lives.”

Recruitment for the 2024 Cardinal Leadership Institute will begin in Fall 2023. Information about the Cardinal Leadership Institute requirements, benefits, application and information sessions on the institute’s . For questions, contact Meagan West in the UofL Employee Success Center.

On April 18, Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez and Interim Provost Gerry Bradley conferred the 2022 Presidential Excellence Awards during the Celebration of Faculty and Staff. The awards recognize the employees whose personal and professional commitments to student success impact the entire university community.

Here are this year’s winners.

Cardinal Principles Champions
The Cardinal Principles Champions award honors faculty and staff who demonstrate one of the Cardinal Principles at the highest level of impact.
• Kathy Meyer, Community of Care
• Asma Addarrat-Edwards, Accountability
• Leondra Gully, Respect
• Nakia Strickland, Diversity and Inclusion
• Avery Kolers, Integrity and Transparency
• Mani Vangalur, Noble Purpose
• Cecilia Peredo, Agility
• Dwayne Compton, Leadership

Distinguished Faculty Awards
These awards honor faculty who bring distinction to the university through their commitment to the areas of service, teaching and outstanding scholarship, research and creative activity.

Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity
• Jun Yan, School of Medicine, Basic and Applied Sciences
• Kristi Maxwell, College of Arts and Sciences, Creative and Performing Arts
• Donald Miller, School of Medicine, Career Achievement
• Manju Ahuja, College of Business, Social Sciences
• Andrew Rabin, College of Arts and Sciences, Humanities

Distinguished Service
• Chris Fitzgerald, School of Music, Service to UofL
• Fannie Cox, University Libraries, Career of Service
• Jose Fernandez, College of Business, Service to the Profession
• Anne Wallis, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, National/International Service
• Sharon Moore, Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, Service to the Community, the Commonwealth and/or the Region

Distinguished Teaching Professor
• Matthieu Dalle, College of Arts and Sciences, Full-time
• Tamer Inanc, Speed School of Engineering, Full-time
• Kimcherie Lloyd, School of Music, Full-time
• John Wise, Sr., School of Medicine, Full-time
• Edgardo Mansilla, Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, Part-time

George J. Howe Distinguished Staff Award
This award recognizes the contributions of an extraordinary UofL staff member who exemplifies the traits of its namesake George J. Howe (humility, generosity, and excellence in leadership) as well as the Cardinal Principles. This staff member’s career has had an exceptional impact on the university and its vision to be a great place to learn, work, and in which to invest.
• Marvin Mitchell, Senior Associate Athletic Director

Outstanding Performance Award
The Outstanding Performance Award recognizes university staff who inspire others through their outstanding dedication and commitment to UofL.
• John Burton, Library Specialist, University Libraries – Technical Services
• Connie Cox, Coordinator, Kent School of Social Work and Family Science
• James Creg, Program Manager, Department of Continuing Medical ����ֱ��
• Robert Fry, Database Analyst, University Planning, Design & Construction
• Victoria King, Custodian, Physical Plant
• Colleen Martin, Director, Student Disability Resource Center
• Christy Metzger, Program Director, Student Success Center
• Betty Nunn, Administrative Specialist, Bioengineering
• Steven Riley, Scientific Instrumentation Specialist, Chemistry
• Vanessa Streble, Administrative Associate, UofL Innovation & Commercialization

Outstanding Supervisor Award
This award recognizes supervisors who create a culture of engagement that includes supporting the development of team members and sending a strong, consistent message of respect, compassion and trustworthiness.
• Amber Roberts, Director of Undergrad Academic Student Services, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development Office of Undergraduate Advising and Student Development

Team Impact Award
Team impact Award winners honor a team of dedicated employees who work collaboratively to realize their vision.
• The Prevention, ����ֱ�� and Advocacy on Campus and in the Community (PEACC) Center – Tisha Pletcher, Lamont Johnson, Kathleen Elsherif, Kayla Ray and Alyssa Collina

Presidential Commission Awards

Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity
• Presidential Exemplary Multicultural Teaching Award: Cynthia Ganote
• Presidential Exemplary Multicultural Staff Award: Shirley Wu
• CODRE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resident Leader Award: Abbas Rattani
• CODRE Commissioner of the Year Award: Maria Tinnell

Commission on the Status of Women
• COSW Catalyst: Karen Christopher
• COSW Champion of Advocacy: Stella Wang
• COSW Champion of Communications: Leondra Gully
• COSW Climate & Equity Champion: Riece Hamilton
• COSW Commissioner of the Year: Heidi Neal
• COSW Volunteer of the Year: Meagan West

The University of Louisville continues to make progress on its 2020-2022 Strategic Plan. The Gheens Foundation is playing a key role in its success.

Established in 1957 by philanthropists and entrepreneurs C. Edwin and Mary Jo Gheens, the Gheens Foundation has provided more than $130 million in grants to improve the quality of life for the residents of Metropolitan Louisville, particularly in the areas of education and human services. With those priority areas in mind, Gheens contributed $2 million to support the university’s mission in February 2019. About $500,000 was committed to immediate campus safety and security enhancements. In addition to that initial investment in safety and security, UofL has used more than $530,000 of the Gheens funding to support seven strategic proposals submitted by the Strategic Plan subcommittees that will directly impact students, faculty and staff.

“Early in my tenure at UofL, the Gheens Foundation stepped up to ask: ‘How can we help the university better accomplish its strategic goals and improve the lives of students, faculty and staff?’” President Neeli Bendapudi said of the gift. “The Gheens gift continues to make a difference as we target the funds in areas that benefit the university in a variety of ways. By directing the money to these projects, we are ensuring that UofL is and will continue to be a great place to learn, to work and in which to invest.”

Over the next two weeks, UofL News will share information on each of these areas, beginning with:

Chatbot

Recruiting and supporting prospective and current students is a ‘round-the-clock service, as they seek information at times that best fit their schedules and from a number of digital channels. With the implementation of an artificial intelligence chatbot on its website, UofL will be better able to address students’ needs by providing information and support 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

A chatbot is a program that responds to a users’ questions in real time, providing service to students who may not be able to reach offices and individuals during regular hours. This is particularly important for the areas of student recruitment and retention, which deal primarily with students and their families.

The Great Place to Learn subcommittee partnered with the offices of undergraduate and graduate admissions, Information Technology Services, the Registrar’s Office and the Delphi Center to select a chatbot that would best serve the university’s needs. Administered by Mainstay (formerly AdmitHub) and coordinated by the Enrollment Management Systems team, the chatbot program will be implemented in spring 2022 and, eventually, will be available to add to any university website.

Gheens is providing the funds for the three-year initiative, including annual maintenance and licensing fees. The Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success unit will supplement funding for the program.

“This will be a game changer for us,” said Jim Begany, vice provost for enrollment management and student success. “Students want and deserve the higher level of service we will be able to provide.”

Employee Onboarding

Employee satisfaction begins the day a new faculty or staff member walks onto campus for the first time. A Great Place to Work subcommittee and the Employee Success Center have designed a new, year-long onboarding process to better support new employees. The onboarding process will be enhanced with unit-specific activities such as assigning onboarding mentors and using a checklist to ensure the new employee’s needs are being addressed.

The process also will include a branded gift box that will be sent to new employees, which includes items that will be useful in the first few days on the job, keepsake items and a personal message from the university president. The committee also proposed recognizing employees after their first year of the start date with a message of thanks and a small token of appreciation.

The Employee Success Center hopes to launch the new program in January; training and development of the checklist will begin by the end of this year.

Cultural Wellbeing Index

Between the Covid-19 pandemic and social justice issues, particularly in Louisville, the UofL community experienced significant cultural shocks in 2020-21. The Cultural Wellbeing Index provided an opportunity to gauge the current health of the campus culture at UofL and to establish a baseline for future studies. The Gheens gift provided funding for implementation of the study, which surveyed more than 2,300 students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The study has led or will lead to a number of outcomes, including the previously mentioned restructuring of the university’s onboarding process. The survey results also suggested that the CWI will be effective in assessing the campus community’s response and the university’s actions following any future societal and cultural shocks.

“A healthy campus culture is vital for any organization and an important factor to consider in determining the direction of the university,” said Faye Jones, interim senior associate vice president for diversity and equity and co-chair of the subcommittee that recommended the survey. “The CWI will assist us in determining the potential impacts of policies and administrative actions on our community. It will help us make decisions that will improve the work environment for our faculty and staff.”��

Next week: UofL News will highlight three more projects funded by Gheens, including safety improvements, a research mentoring program and Cardinal Principles marketing.

Michael Wade Smith, vice president for external affairs and chief of staff, informed senators of the university’s continuing commitment to providing fair compensation for faculty and staff. The identified the equitable compensation of employees as a critical aspect of institutional success. To honor the university’s commitment, Human Resources will lead two university-wide over the next several months. The studies will assess employee wages and Total Rewards, which include all available benefits such as health insurance, retirement and tuition remission.

“We are trying to increase compensation in spite of the limited resources that we do have and the turbulent time that we’re in,” Smith said. “We have our larger university-wide effort that’s underway; that’s going to take some time. But in addition to that, we are trying to make incremental gains wherever we can.”

Smith further acknowledged that the university’s compensation initiative contributed to the recent improvements in employee wages. In addition to the 1% salary increase that went into effect earlier this year, UofL staff and faculty also received a $1,000 bonus in August.��

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez provided senators with her insight on the current student enrollment figures. Both Smith and Gonzalez reported an increase in graduate school enrollment by 232 graduate students, but a decline of 194 undergraduate students. Gonzalez reported that universities nationwide are experiencing a decline in undergraduate enrollment due to COVID-19 and highlighted the impact of the enrollment efforts made by UofL employees.

“I want to point out that we started out at about 750 students down. We are now only 194 students down. This was a Herculean lift from our enrollment management team and the Cardinal family, and now this year we will be focused on retaining those students,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also encouraged senators and their constituents to contribute to the Cardinal community of care by vaccinating for the upcoming flu season. UofL will offer flu shot clinics on both the Health Science Campus and the Belknap Campus until Friday, Oct. 1. Dates, locations and hours of operation for the clinic can be found on the .

“When we talk about a community of care, the one thing that people can do to make sure this a safe campus is to get vaccinated,” Gonzalez said. “Now in addition to COVID-19, we are getting ready to move into flu season. Just like we’re encouraging you to get your COVID-19 vaccine, please get your flu shot as well.”

Brian Buford, executive director of university culture and employee success, presented an overview of UofL’s reimagined employee onboarding experience. Launching in January 2022, the improved onboarding process aims to address issues that were identified through numerous focus groups and interviews conducted by the Employee Success Center.

New aspects of the process will include a full year of onboarding support through the Employee Success Center, increased onboarding support at the departmental level, a revamped new employee orientation, as well as a welcome gift during the first week of employment and again on the one-year employment anniversary.

Buford also announced that each department will have a designated liaison known as an onboarding navigator. As the point-of-contact for onboarding employees, navigators will strive to create a spirit of welcome for new hires within their department. Those interested in serving as onboarding navigators for their departments will have the opportunity to volunteer and receive training in the coming months.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on Oct. 11 via Microsoft Teams.

Also, the 2021 winner of the Outstanding Supervisor Award, selected by a committee of peers, is Danielle Dolan, assistant dean and director in the A&S Advising Center.��

From Dolan’s nomination:��“Danielle is the kind of leader that you want to work with for your entire career. She is kind, friendly, motivating, and genuinely cares about all aspects of your being. She has always encouraged a healthy work/life balance, with constant reminders to take care of ourselves. She consistently reminds us to make sure our mental health is a priority. After all, we cannot tell our students to do these things if we are not doing them ourselves!��Danielle is the absolute embodiment of the Cardinal Principles. She has always worked diligently to create a community of care that is both accountable and respectful, both for our office and in working with our students. She creates an environment that allows everyone to be who they are and allows all voices to be heard and acknowledged. She has become a true leader by being transparent, honest and open with her staff and flexible in both processes and operations.”

The Outstanding Performance Award Winners are listed below.��

Jody Carroll, coordinator, vice president of Research – Technology Dev.

From the nomination:��“Jody maintains great relationships with outside Intellectual Property law firms, is a leader when it comes to teaching others about financial responsibilities and goes beyond her role as financial coordinator by being a role model. She is very approachable, and kind and her positive attitude is contagious. Jody is a natural leader in our office. She always steps up to help new team members learn their role. No matter what else she has going on in her work, she continuously takes the initiative to help others and to drive our team to do the best we can in every situation. She is always willing to take on extra tasks that will make us a better team.”

Beverly Cooper, program assistant senior, International Affairs

From the nomination:��“Beverly has been a dedicated employee at the university for almost 40 years. She is a consummate professional. She puts the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) team first, strives to get all involved, and has a student-centered mentality. In short, she has put her love in her job, her fellow staff members, and her university and community. Beverly has always been timely, resilient, and a self-starter. She asks the questions needed to fill in the blanks of any issues or concerns she sees in the office. She is dedicated to her customer service and making every international student feel welcome when they enter the university. She makes the university feel like family and like home for our students. For all the work that she commits to the office, dependability, hard-work, team-player, independent worker, bringing the office together to solve admissions concerns, and for being a genuinely wonderful person. She is not in this for herself. She is in it for the greater good and that is a lost trait.”

Carrie Faller, director of Workforce and Student Development, Metropolitan College��

From the nomination:��“Carrie is a servant leader who consistently goes above and beyond her stated job description to ensure that the entire Metropolitan College community feels supported, valued and served on a daily basis. Carrie has worked for the University of Louisville for 13 years and I would be remiss if I let one more year go by without seeking an opportunity to recognize her work publicly. I believe Carrie is a phenomenal employee and an excellent example of how Cardinal Principles are put into action every day. Carrie excels in her work ethic, dependability, initiative, time management, organization and project management.”

Marcus Hayes, carpenter, Physical Plant

From the nomination:��“Marcus demonstrates a high degree of effort, and always has a positive attitude toward his work assignments. [He] has never turned down work, and always gives 110% effort toward his daily assignments. We continue to hear feedback from students, staff and faculty that Marcus Hayes was helpful, respectful and friendly toward Physical Plant’s customers.”��

Carol Hines, unit business manager intermediate, Pediatrics – Infectious Disease��

From the nomination:��“Carol has been a central figure in the success of the units that she has served and has been a central, exemplary and foundational member of the administrative structure of the Department of Pediatrics. Carol is always poised, calm, collected and kind. She is a role model for other staff in the division, unit, and the department. Her answer is always, ‘Yes… and is there anything else I can do?’ There have been some rough times in the past 20 years—personnel problems, long leaves of absence, transitions in leadership, financial constraints. But Carol’s steady, calm, competent approach has been a comfort to all of us at these times. Carol’s love for her work shows—her pride and sense of accomplishment is infectious.”

Justin Peterson, associate director of Intramural and Recreational Sports��

From the nomination:��“Justin does everything with integrity and is committed to UofL students. He has helped to create a culture in the Student Recreation Center where customer service is a priority. He has excellent judgement and can be always be counted on the make the right decision. He always represents Intramural Recreational Sports and the university in a positive and professional manner. His work ethic is unmatched. He is a highly valued member of the Intramural Recreational Sports team, all of whom have the utmost respect for Justin.”

Eunice Salazar, unit business manager intermediate, Speed School – Conn Center

From the nomination:��“Her consistently positive attitude and ‘take on anything’ mentality have characterized Ms. Salazar’s outstanding service to the university since her hire in 2013, and especially in her expanded capability as UBM since 2016. Eunice responds decisively and carefully to [her] barrage of daily administrative tasks and activities with the Cardinal Principles as her guide, consistently enabling the center staff, researchers, students, associated faculty, and industry collaborators as they navigate university, state and federal accounting and operations regulations. She maintains the center’s business dealings with a clear ethical compass and ensures training and adherence to best practices in accountancy.”

Joshua Spurgeon, research scientist, Speed School of Engineering��

From the nomination:��“[Josh] has worked exceptionally hard to land a few significant grants for the Conn Center, including a prestigious NSF CAREER award, while also displaying strong service through community outreach activities that broaden the impact of the Conn Center’s activities. He has been dedicated to his students and tries his best to always be involved and accessible while mentoring graduate students. He has published 26 articles in five years in the Conn Center, including 4 articles with exceptionally high impact factors of 30+, and many highly cited works. He also has been granted one patent on solar-driven hydrogen generation from humidity in the air, and he has two other patents pending through UofL. He perseveres through tough challenges and research problems, and always takes the time to try to make sure that students are learning along the way. He also cares about his students as people and tries to build group unity beyond work activities.”

To ensure the UofL community is prepared to engage in the evolving global market, the university has undertaken a broad array of digital transformation projects designed to provide the digital and mobile on-demand solutions and services required to efficiently work, learn and create, as well as training opportunities for applications in high demand in the workforce.

One prime example is the use of the virtual meeting application Teams and other Microsoft 365 applications for virtual collaboration. These applications quickly became part of daily life for nearly everyone on campus in 2020, replacing in-person meetings, classes and presentations made impossible by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because these tools already were available to the UofL community, the move to remote work and learning was accomplished quickly, reducing the impact of the pandemic.

Several other key platforms also are available to the Cardinal community, including . Beginning in September 2020, every active UofL student, faculty member and employee was provided access to the Adobe suite at no cost thanks to a university enterprise license. Creative Cloud is an industry standard platform for creating documents, videos, audio, graphic design, photos, illustrations, websites and mobile apps. It includes more than 20 popular applications such as Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and others. The suite is accessed using a UofL email and password.

To help students, faculty and staff become proficient, training for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud applications is available virtually through the Center (DTC).

The DTC is UofL’s portal for technology research, innovation and learning, providing access to free or low-cost training for Microsoft, the IBM Skills Gateway, Google Analytics Academy, Adobe and Cisco, as well as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, machine learning and other technologies. Nearly all training courses are available at no cost for UofL students, faculty and staff, and many come with badges, certificates or other credentials upon completion.

Sharon Kerrick, assistant vice president of the DTC, estimated that more than 4,000 people have accessed the digital transformation web portal, 600 users have accessed Adobe Creative Cloud training and the center has facilitated nearly 1,000 badges or other credentials in Microsoft, IBM and Google since their launch last year.

More than just providing the applications and enabling learners, the DTC created the Digital Transformation Team to work with faculty and staff to expand the use of these resources in teaching and learning, research and innovation, faculty and staff development and civic and partner engagement. For example, the team works with the Cardinal Core Curriculum Committee to encourage faculty and staff to intentionally integrate the applications into the learning environment, reinforcing the core set of digital skills needed by graduates in the workforce.

Jason Zahrndt, program manager of the Digital Media Suite in Ekstrom Library, said that in the last two years, that program has consulted on the creation and use of media for classroom instruction and activities more than 1,100 times and at least 100 courses have included media assignments, involving more than 2,400 students and faculty members in every college and unit. In 2020-21, 13 instructors used Adobe products in Cardinal Core courses.

Instructors are incorporating other applications into courses as well. The Cardinal Core class LEAD 256, “Technology in our world today,” for example, incorporates five technology industry badges from IBM, Microsoft and Google. These are customized to each student’s career path (analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, etc.) or can be a mix of topics to provide broader exposure to different technologies. Students in the class also must complete an applied learning project using their newly acquired skills.

To increase digital literacy for staff and faculty, the DTC partners with the to present virtual Tech Tip Tuesdays, and Taste of Technology events have highlighted key applications from Adobe and Microsoft and opportunities through the DTC.

In support of the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure UofL is a great place to work through professional development, the Employee Success Center and the DTC announced in March that UofL employees and students have . The platform includes more than 16,000 virtual courses designed to refine and develop technical, business, software and creative skills. As of the end of June, more than 1,200 Cardinals had taken advantage of courses through LinkedIn Learning.

Brian Buford, executive director of the Employee Success Center, said digital resources such as LinkedIn Learning and others allow people to work and learn together more efficiently whether they are on Belknap Campus, the Health Sciences Center or in other locations.��

“We are learning new ways to work and connect with one another and technology is at the heart of all of it,” Buford said.��“Whether it’s meeting on Teams, developing our teams with LinkedIn Learning modules or editing shared documents online, it’s just amazing how much we’ve been able to do remotely.”

The skills learned by using these technologies within university life also will transfer to students’ and employees’ future professional work.

“Adobe, Microsoft, DocuSign and LinkedIn learning are all great resources for faculty and students to use for learning and accomplishing tasks, assignments and efficient work,” said Rehan Khan, vice president and chief information officer for UofL. “These digital resources and platforms are the essential tools required for today and the future. As society continues to transition to digital services and engagement mastering these tools will enable greater productivity and success.”

To improve administrative functions, the university’s information infrastructure also is undergoing digital transformation. Projects include upgrading human resources management with , enhancing internal and external web resource through the web improvement project and implementation of Cayuse, a new electronic administration tool for university researchers.

This broad effort in digital transformation aligns with the university’s commitment to ensure UofL is a great place to learn and a great place to work, as well as supporting the Grand Challenges of Engineering Our Future Economy and Empowering Our Communities.

The initiatives support the growth of future tech talent in Louisville, which recently was ranked 13 among the Next 25 emerging tech talent markets in , with 19,290 people employed in technology and an increase of 31% in tech talent employment in the last five years.

The resources of the DTC are made available to the wider community through projects such as the Louisville Future of Work Initiative, the Louisville Central Community Center’s Analytics Track and the Digital Transformation Academy for high school students. These projects empower individuals in nearly any field to take advantage of emerging technologies in their chosen industry, prepare employees to fill vital technology jobs and encourage lifelong learning in the community at large.

Though we’re readying for a return to campus in the fall, we remain committed to acknowledging and celebrating the many above-and-beyond examples exhibited by our community throughout the past year and a half. As part of this effort, the Employee Success Center has established two new awards – the COVID-19 Heroes and the .

COVID-19 Heroes

The COVID-19 Hero Awards were created for this year only to recognize those who have stepped up in extraordinary ways throughout the unprecedented crisis. These heroes include:

Timothy (Colten) Ingram, Olivia Langston, J’Lissabeth Faughn, and Mohammad Hussain, assistant directors of Residential ����ֱ��

During the pandemic, while serving on the professional consultation on-call team, these assistant directors took on the primary responsibility of managing and coordinating almost 1,000 COVID-19 cases on a 24/7 basis. These duties included receiving calls or emails from Campus Health contact tracing and/or Hall Directors about students testing positive for the virus or being exposed, coordinating hotel accommodations, transportation, meal deliveries, inputting information into the Housing portal, checking in with residents daily, and providing guidance and support before and while students were in isolation.

Dr. Sherry Babbage, Comprehensive Dentistry

Babbage kept emergency dental care up and running for the community throughout the pandemic. She also obtained her certification in vaccination protocols to help at register sites and arranged meetings to educate those who were hesitant about receiving the vaccination.

Cheryl Capito-Paul, Donna Casey, Pam Frank, Allie Jones and John Spivey, Business Ops Customer Service/Quality Improvement Team

The team shifted from its normal workload and volunteered to take on the critical assignment of serving as the COVID-19 call center, answering all of the campus community’s COVID questions and working tirelessly to stay up to date on the ever-changing policies to provide accurate answers. With their fingers on the pulse, they provided daily reports to the executive COVID-19 team to ensure their decisions were based on knowledge of UofL community’s experience, and helped to shape the University’s COVID-19 response. In all they answered 2,113 COVID related inquiries from August 2020 to May 2021, and achieved an impressive 90.4% satisfaction rating from their customers.

Jeffrey Edlin, security officer/escort driver, Department of Public Safety

Despite nationwide lockdowns, security officers never stopped providing safety escorts to UofL students and Edlin was the primary driver for the students who remained on campus, placing himself at risk.

Supervisor-Nancy Trabue and the Entire First Floor Staff, Faculty ACB OS Residents, GPR Residents and Patty Byrd, Emergency/Oral Surgery Clinic, School of Dentistry

As private practices shut down around the community, the Emergency/Oral Surgery Clinic remained open for emergency services.��

Alice Abbott-Moore, Cecilia Durbin, Jason Friedman, Matt Goldberg, Angie Kennedy, Chris Poche, Bethany Poston, Nick Sweat, Rayanne Turner, Steve Whiteside and Briana Williams, Ekstrom Library Access and User Services Team

To keep the library’s vital services running as much as possible, the Access and User Services team developed new safety protocols, including sanitation procedures, to allow for ongoing circulation of items as well as other public services. They also had to shift a large percentage of their work to a remote environment, while maintaining services within the library building. One of the most notable changes was a completely new contactless pick-up system in lieu of the typical book delivery service, which had to be discontinued for safety reasons.

Felix Garza, library associate/PAS director, University Libraries

Garza was primarily responsible for seeing that the library was a safe space for students to study on HSC. Under his supervision, members of the PAS team designed a space design the reduced capacity by half. He contributed to creating KHSL messaging, PPE supplies, and safety compliance policies and ensured the implementation said policies. Garza ensured that KHSL Inter-library loan/document delivery services remained open while most academic libraries around the country completely shut down. As a result of this decision, KHSL Inter Library Loan requests increased by 145% over 2019 statistics from countries around the world: thus, promoting the reputation and excellence of the University of Louisville.

Dr. Jill Jacobi-Vessels, director, Early Learning Campus

The Early Learning campus closed from March 2020 to August 2020. Throughout that difficult time of the closure, Jacobi-Vessels researched and ordered PPE and other COVID related materials, and also consulted with her peers at other childcare facilities and learned as much as she could about COVID-19 and the implications for staff and children. During the summer, Jacobi-Vessels worked with staff to develop a transition plan for reopening the center after the summer hiatus. This included a mechanism for safely checking children in and out of the facility in conjunction with their parents and guardians.

Charles Ames,��Randall Cook,��Adam Davis,��Rob Elliott,��Rick Gesler,��Ben Gordon,��Jack Huber,��Kevin Kilkelly, Ron Leonard,��Kevin Lush, Craig Lush and Ben Williams, Physical Plant Carpenters Shop

When much of the campus had begun working remotely, a team of essential workers in the Physical Plant carpenter shop came to campus every day to plan for the eventual return of the campus community and to make sure everyone was safe. They focused on designing new systems and structures that would meet the university’s COVID safety guidelines, including the build and installation of over 600 sneeze guards, 350 cleaning stations and 100 foot pulls. They also assumed responsibility for moving desks to various locations and repositioning them within offices to create safe distance learning and workspaces.

Bradley Lawton, Angela Yates, Linda Leake, Alicia Montgomery Dunlap, John Morgan, Adam Huddleston, Aimee Greene, Beth Case, Deb Hatfield, Becca Denny, Jason Zahrndt, Danny McDonald and Robin Zahrndt, Delphi Center Instructional Design & Technology and��Blackboard Learning & Technology Group

Just three days after the university announced plans to switch to online instruction, the Delphi Center launched a university-wide training initiative to help faculty make the critical transition. The Instructional Design and Technology Team offered faculty initial and continued training as they made shifts to online and hybrid formats. More than 2,000 faculty attended the 146 training opportunities in addition to thousands of consultations through the year. The Delphi Center’s Blackboard and Learning Technology added 13 third-party integrations with Blackboard, extended its daily support hours, added support on the weekends and included 24/7 on-call hours. Of the 4,800 tickets processed in 2020, eighty percent were closed within 48 hours.��

More information about the COVID-19 Hero Award recipients can be found .

To learn about the recipients of the new Cardinal Principle Champions, .��

LinkedIn Learning is an award-winning virtual training resource with a digital library of over 16,000 courses covering a wide range of technical, business, software and creative topics. These expert-led courses are designed to refine and develop professional skills, teach new software and explore other areas for those exploring career growth and personal development.

With LinkedIn Learning, users can development several in-demand skills to achieve both personal and professional goals on their own schedule. Courses range from less than five minutes to several hours long and can be accessed on any electronic device, anywhere.

In addition to individual courses, LinkedIn Learning also compiles playlists of resources that are focused on larger topics known as . After completing a learning path, users can share this accomplishment on their LinkedIn profiles. This allows users to easily share their new skills and qualifications with their entire professional network.

The team at the Employee Success Center also works to compile relevant resources on LinkedIn Learning for university students and employees. These learning paths, such as the return to campus and remote/hybrid support resources announced in UofL Today on June 23, are thoughtfully curated to address the current and specific needs of those within the university community.

Popular courses available on LinkedIn Learning include , and . LinkedIn Learning also provides learning paths designed to develop and improve skills with the Adobe Creative Suite, which is available at no cost to all current employees and students through .

As part of the , the University of Louisville is committed to the continued professional and personal development of all faculty and staff. Providing free e-learning opportunities to all faculty and staff, such as the LinkedIn Learning Partnership, is one way that UofL is devoted to making the university a great place to work.

To get started with the free services offered through the LinkedIn Learning partnership, log in through the . The online library is also available through the LinkedIn Learning app for and . Video tutorials, FAQs and LinkedIn Learning app login instructions can be found on the Employee Success Center’s .