Over its five-year history, the program has increased the population of leadership-prepared faculty members across both campuses. LIAM graduates have moved on to accept leadership positions at UofL, including Russ Farmer, assistant dean – clinical skills and medical director of the Paris Simulation Center in the School of Medicine; Susan Ryan, associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Arts & Sciences; Brandon McCormack, director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research; Doug Craddock Jr., vice president of community engagement and chief of staff to the executive vice president and university provost; and Jeff Guan, who recently was named interim dean of the College of Business.

The mission of is to develop the next generation of leaders at UofL by teaching them the skills needed first to lead themselves, then lead with others and finally, lead an organization. Faculty members enroll in an 11-month training program that includes regular discussions and capstone team projects.

“Leadership is a set of skills that you can practice. It’s not something you are born with or not born with, but there is a set of definable skills, and with any skill, if you practice it, you get better at it,” said Gerard Rabalais, who developed and directs the LIAM program with Staci Saner.

Originally created for School of Medicine faculty and named Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine, LIAM quickly expanded to include faculty members from across the university as well as staff from UofL Health. Reflecting this broader scope, the program has been renamed Leadership and Innovation in Academics Matter.

The LIAM class of 2022, listed below, includes 46 faculty members from HSC and Belknap campuses and UofL Health.

LIAM graduating class (2022):

Cara Cashon, Arts & Sciences

David Schultz, Arts & Sciences

Michael Losavio, Arts & Sciences

Michael Menze, Arts & Sciences

Sherri Wallace, Arts & Sciences

Thomas Edison, Arts & Sciences

Daniela Terson de Paleville, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Gianina Fink, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Laurie Dawn McCubbin, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Samantha Walte, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Stefanie Wooten Burnett, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Jeff Guan, Business

Jose Fernandez, Business

Michael Wade, Business

Robert Garrett Jr., Business

Zachary Goldman, Business

Brittney Richardson, Medicine

Cindy Crabtree, Medicine

Erin Davis, Medicine

Hannah Fischer, Medicine

Jessica Kline, Medicine

Katherine Pohlgeers, Medicine

Katie Canalichio, Medicine

Katrina Erickson, Medicine

Keri Marques, Medicine

Marcie Cole, Medicine

Marx de Sa, Medicine

Mary McClanahan, Medicine

Matthew Lawrenz, Medicine

Mohiuddin Hadi, Medicine

Nana Yaw Ohene Baah, Medicine

Natalie Henderson, Medicine

Ronald Morton, Medicine

Stacy Lenger, Medicine

Rebecca Gesler, Nursing

Dongfeng Wu, Public Health and Information Sciences

Shesh Rai, Public Health and Information Sciences

Christina John, UofL Physicians

Cindy Lucchese, UofL Physicians

M Renae Gagnon, UofL Physicians

Mariam Traore, UofL Physicians

Zachary Bostock, UofL Physicians

Adam Hall, Dentistry

Alia Eldairi, Dentistry

Breacya Washington, Dentistry

Pin-Chuang Lai, Dentistry

The 45-member LIAM class of 2023 also has been announced and is listed below.

LIAM incoming class (2023):

Kristi King, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Justin McFadden, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Dylan Naeger, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Ashley Shelton, ����ֱ�� and Human Development

Eduardo Antunes Bortoluzzi, Dentistry

Grace De Souza, Dentistry

Timothy Followell, Dentistry

Liliana Rozo (Gaeth), Dentistry

Hammam Al Makadma, Medicine

Tracy Ander, Medicine

Forest Arnold, Medicine

Virginia Barbosa, Medicine

Michael Chorney, Medicine

Samantha Cotton, Medicine

Dale Ding, Medicine

Susan Harkema, Medicine

Lauren Herrmann, Medicine

Gagandeep Kaur, Medicine

Jerry Lin, Medicine

Wei Liu, Medicine

Jonathan Newsom, Medicine

Siddharth Pahwa, Medicine

Adriana Palade, Medicine

Melissa Perrotta, Medicine

Ryan Shapiro, Medicine

Caitlin Thomas, Medicine

Nelleke van Wouwe, Medicine

Nagma Zafar, Medicine

Jian Zheng, Medicine

Lynn Roser, Nursing

Andrew Scott LaJoie, Public Health and Information Sciences

Tina Vandergriff, UofL Hospital

Abbey Roach, UofL Hospital

Amy Capps, UofL Hospital

Aundrea Lewis, UofL Hospital

Kim Wilson, UofL Hospital

Brandi Meyer, UofL Hospital

Erzsi Sleder, UofL Hospital

Rachel Riggs, UofL Hospital

Fay Knott, UofL Physicians

Mindy Sherman, UofL Physicians

Susi Gillis, UofL Physicians

Westley Covington, UofL Physicians

Sherri Ryan, UofL Physicians

Jamieson Forristal, UofL Physicians

As vice provost for faculty affairs, Dawson-Edwards will work with the provost and academic deans to oversee all faculty personnel actions and provide faculty and administrator professional development programs. Her service in the provost office begins Feb. 1, 2022.

Prior to her current role, she served as the department chair for A&S Criminal Justice, director of the A&S Social Change Program and acting director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research.

“She is a passionate educator and a justice-oriented scholar who focuses on the intersection of public policy and criminal justice with a specific focus on race, schools and juvenile justice,” said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez in an announcement to the university jointly issued with Interim Provost Gerry Bradley. “Throughout her career, she has worked tirelessly for institutional and community change, always striving to bring greater equity and inclusion to the policies and practices of organizations.”

Outside of her work at UofL, Dawson-Edwards currently serves as the Kentucky affiliate representative on the national board of the American Civil Liberties Union with a recent appointment as the nationwide ACLU deputy affiliate equity officer, where she ensures that equity and inclusion have a constant presence in the search and placement of organizational leaders. She has also worked with numerous school districts conducting professional development trainings and consulting on racial equity and workplace restorative justice practices. Dawson-Edwards received the 2016 University of Louisville College of Arts & Sciences Community Service Award.

“We are confident that her work will touch every part of our university to ensure our faculty know they are supported,” Gonzalez said. “Her personal and professional experience and interests as well as her service to the university make her the ideal person for this role, which is vital to our administration.”

Learn more about Cherie Dawson-Edwards .

“Every faculty member has their time allocated across teaching, research and service, but there is no guidebook on how to structure your time to get all these things accomplished,” he said.

The program is facilitated through the , an organization that provides on-demand access to mentoring, professional development and support. UofL has paid for an institutional membership to NCFDD, and anyone employed by the university may .

This year, several faculty of color are being supported by their school’s dean and the to participate in NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program aimed at helping them increase research and writing productivity, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This opportunity provides needed resources as the faculty pursue tenure and other academic goals.

Amirah Jackson, assistant professor, School of Dentistry, is new to academia. After working a few years for a private dental practice, Jackson returned to her dental school alma mater in January 2021 to teach.

“This program is helping me understand the many aspects of being a faculty member, and it is fruitful to learn about how others navigate their professional careers,” she said.

Each participant is divided in groups, with four faculty and one coach from throughout the United States. They are each given homework assignments and meet weekly to discuss progress.

Barr-Pulliam says the program is helping him get a better handle on how to manage his time to accomplish both present and future tasks.

“Last week we talked about putting together an individual strategic plan and this week we are placing goal objectives onto our calendars. This creates accountability. During our weekly meetings, we are encouraged and give a report on what we’ve committed to do,” he said.

He says the program is about a mindset shift, helping faculty think about roadblocks that could keep them from research and writing and how to move past those hurdles.

“One of the things I’ve learned is the importance of writing research-related content 30 minutes every day,” he said. “I’ll get more done if I do a little each day.”

For Jackson, social media can sometimes be a distraction. She’s learned one way to manage that is to take the app off her phone on days when it could interfere with a particular task. Participants also are encouraged to calendar a set time for social media, making it part of their weekly activities.

Barr-Pulliam has worked at UofL since 2019, and says it’s great to be part of an organization committed to NCFDD membership.

“I wanted to work at an institution trying to improve access for multiple populations,” he said. 

Jackson agrees, and gives heartfelt thanks to those who supported her in this program.

“I am so grateful to Faye Jones, Diane Whitlock and the Office of Diversity and Equity, and to Dean Bradley for making this possible for me,” she said.

Barr-Pulliam encourages other faculty and staff to and take advantage of the basic NCFDD offerings.

“This is a good program and no matter where you are in your journey, there are nuggets you can take away. It provides skills that are hard to acquire otherwise,” he said.

Other UofL participants of the NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program include:

• Claudia Angeli, assistant professor, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Aishia Brown, assistant professor, School of Public Health and Information
• Kimmerly Harrell, assistant professor, School of Medicine
• Kalasia Ojeh, assistant professor, College of Arts and Sciences
• Shaun Owens, assistant professor, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development

The 12-week program ends in November.

The 25 members of the class of 2019-2020, organized in five teams, outlined plans for improving faculty research productivity, patient access, employee recognition, communication and active learning in July. This was the first LIAM class to include faculty from the Belknap Campus.

The mission of the program is to develop the next generation of leaders at UofL by teaching them the skills needed first to lead themselves, then lead with others and finally, lead an organization. Faculty members enroll in an 11-month training program that includes regular discussions and the capstone team projects.

“Leadership is a set of skills that you can practice. It’s not something you are born with or not born with, but there is a set of definable skills, and with any skill, if you practice it, you get better at it,” said Gerard Rabalais, who developed and directs the LIAM program with Staci Saner.

LIAM originally was designed as a program for faculty in the School of Medicine, but has evolved quickly to include faculty members across the university.

“Our five-year goal is for 15% of the faculty at the Health Sciences Center campus to complete this program. Once you get to that tipping point, synergy is going to start to kick in,” Rabalais said. “That is the result of the cross-disciplinary relationships that develop, meet and work with people they would never have worked with before from different departments or across colleges. Now that we have increased interest from faculty on the Belknap Campus, with 16 people completing the program by July 2021, we likely will set the same target for Belknap Campus.”

During the event, the program’s fourth cohort of 40 faculty members was introduced. It is the largest class in the program’s history and includes 11 members from Belknap Campus and nine from Health Sciences Center schools other than the School of Medicine.

Projects and team members in the LIAM class of 2019-2020:

Improving Faculty Research Productivity: David Brown, Linda Fuselier, Brandon McCormack, Susan Ryan, Siobhan Smith-Jones

Patient Access at UofL Physicians: Jennifer Daily, Luz Huntington-Moskos, Marija Sasek, Maria Mendoza, Rodolfo Zamora

Employee Recognition: HimaBindu Dukka,  Arpita Lakhotia, W. David Lohr, Suzanne McGee, Michael Sweeney

Communication: Brit Anderson, Tamer Mohamed, Kimberly Pate, William Tse

Driving Active Learning: Michael Egger, James Harrison, Chithra Ram, Jennifer Stiff,  Tracy VanMeter, Beverly Williams-Coleman

LIAM program class of 2020-2021:

• Jason Gainous                                             Arts & Sciences
• Kandi Walker                                             Arts & Sciences
• Regina Roebuck                                          Arts & Sciences
• Benjamin Mast                                Arts & Sciences
• Kevin Gawley                                                        Arts & Sciences
• Dawn Heinecken                                         Arts & Sciences
• Amy Flint                                          ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Douglas Craddock                                       ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Andrew McCart                                  ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Ishwanzya Rivers                                      ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Brigitte Burpo                                   ����ֱ�� and Human Development
• Jill Steinbach-Rankins                               Speed School of Engineering
• Matthew Fox                                               Medicine
• Adam Ross                                                    Medicine
• Ashley Iles                                                     Medicine
• April Herrity                                                 Medicine
• Beatrice Ugiliweneza                                   Medicine
• Timothy Ford                                               Medicine
• Siddharth Shah                                             Medicine
• Becca Hart                                                  Medicine
• Kelly Jackson                                                 Medicine
• Sunnye Mayes                                              Medicine
• Jeff Meyer                                                     Medicine
• Courtney Smith                                           Medicine
• Joshua Sparks                                                Medicine
• Rebecca Starr Seal                                         Medicine
• Amanda LeBlanc                                           Medicine
• Leslie Sherwood                                         Medicine
• Samuel Carson                                           Medicine
• Clayton Tyler Ellis                                          Medicine
• Kellen Choi                                                     Medicine
• Cynethia Bethel-Jaiteh                                     Nursing
• Muna Hammash                                             Nursing
• Imelda Wright                                                Nursing
• J’Aime Jennings                                           Public Health and Information Sciences
• Brian Marrillia                                              Dentistry
• Lavina Myers                                                     Dentistry
• Juhi Bagaitkar                                              Dentistry
• Gill Diamond                                                 Dentistry
• Ashley King-Tinsley                                      Dentistry

Sixteen members of the UofL School of Medicine faculty began a 10-month training program on Sept. 21, aimed at developing future leaders for academic medical institutions. Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine (LIAM) is designed to develop innovative thinking skills in early to mid-career faculty who may be interested in pursuing leadership roles in the future.

“This program will equip the future leaders of the UofL School of Medicine with the foundational platform to build their leadership skills for the rest of their careers,” said Gerard Rabalais, MD, MHA, associate dean of faculty development.

Participants will attend monthly three-hour meetings, work independently and prepare interdisciplinary projects designed to improve some aspect of the school. Leaders in the UofL School of Medicine, as well as faculty from the UofL College of Business, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development and members of the business community, will lead the monthly meetings. The curriculum will address leading oneself, leading others and leading an organization, all focused on leadership challenges specific to academic medicine.

“I hope they gain an appreciation for the importance of emotional intelligence, and an understanding that the key role of the leader is to provide more than operational effectiveness, but to cast the vision and devise the innovation strategy that provides new and sustainable value to the academic medical center and the communities we serve,” Rabalais said.

The 2017-18 participants, below, were selected from 54 applicants. Rabalais and Staci Saner, MEd, program manager of faculty development, part of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement, developed the curriculum.

“We anticipate that the innovative solutions they develop as part of their projects will be directly applicable to current challenges in the School,” Rabalais said.

The 2017 class of LIAM

Christine Brady, PhD – Pediatrics
Elizabeth Cash, PhD – Otolaryngology-HNS & Communicative Disorders
Jeremy Clark, MD – Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Luz Fernandez, MD – Family Medicine
Brian Holland, MD – Pediatric Cardiology
Adrienne Jordan, MD – Pathology
Farid Kehdy, MD – Surgery
Kathrin LaFaver, MD – Neurology
Sara Multerer, MD – Pediatrics
Alexander V. Ovechkin, MD, PhD – Neurological Surgery
Sara Petruska, MD – Ob/Gyn and Women’s Health
Carolyn Roberson, PhD – Microbiology and Immunology
Tyler Sharpe, MD – Internal Medicine
Hugh Shoff, MD – Department of Emergency Medicine
Leah J. Siskind, PhD – Pharmacology and Toxicology
Laura Workman, MD – Internal Medicine-Pediatrics