What those students may not realize, however, is that their professor – who is also a UofL alum – just became the first American male, and the oldest overall, to swim the Loch Lomond, a 21.6-mile freshwater loch in Scotland.

It took the 60½ year old 12 hours and 3 minutes to complete the swim from Ardlui to Balloch, an approximately 25-mile route by car.

, there have been less than 90 full crossings of Loch Lomond in recorded history.

Johmann has been a swimmer much of his life, including through high school at Louisville’s St. Xavier. He didn’t return to the sport until his mid-30s, when he joined Swim Louisville Masters. Five years later, he started open water swimming, starting with a 10K near Indianapolis and working his way up to a successful English Channel swim in 2014.

The opportunity to complete Loch Lomond, however, intrigued him as it would give him those two records – first American male and oldest swimmer overall. He also wanted to face the unique challenges of the Loch.

“Every swim is different,” he told the publication. “On a Loch such as Lomond, the weather and wind are changing constantly and once a crossing has started, you have to take what the Loch gives. There’s no getting on the boat and waiting for a storm to pass … you either swim to the end, come what may, or you tap out and maybe have to wait another year for another chance.”

Unsurprisingly, training for such grueling distances in such conditions is intense. In Louisville, Johmann is in the water by 5 a.m., swimming five miles a day and up to 30 miles a week. He trains with the Louisville River Rats open water group in the Ohio River from May through October. Sometimes the group will train at a private lake in Oldham County, as well. There is also pool training, but open water swims continue throughout the year, including in the winter, in order to train for cold water conditions.

The water temperature at Loch Lomond was 59 degrees, he said, and wet suits are not allowed according to channel swimming rules.

“In January and February, we will swim for periods of just 5-to-6 minutes when the temperature is in the mid-30s, and as far as a mile (about 25-to-30 minutes) when the temperature is in the 40s,” he told UofL News. “Cold water swimming is its own adventure, and all swimmers are monitored carefully by support kayakers for signs of hypothermia.”

Johmann credited his crew, including boat captain Chris Sifleet and a team of kayakers and spotters, for helping him succeed. During each swim, the crew makes sure he eats and drinks enough and stays on the course despite cross currents and other elements.

Though the temperature may be warmer than the Loch Lomond, those familiar with the Ohio River know it’s not necessarily calm. Johmann calls it a “working river, with barges and tugs and riverboats of all kinds making for some challenging, even dangerous, conditions at times.”

He called the Loch Lomond a “relief” because of its clean water and relatively little traffic. He also enjoyed the view.��

“The swims that attract me most are those with great scenery, great history and a great challenge. Lomond is all three. Hard to imagine more beautiful scenery,” he told Glasgow Live. “Lomond is also a storied loch in song and Scottish history. Attaching my name to such a place and its swimming tradition was irresistible.”

Johmann is also proud to point out he wore a UofL swim cap during the feat, while Sifleet’s boat flew a UofL flag. As far as what’s next, he is considering “various swims,” but nothing has been determined yet. For now, he’ll return to his familiar spot in front of the classroom.

UofL News:��Tell us how you first landed at UofL.

Margaret Hill:��I’m from a little town in Eastern Kentucky – Ravenna. I’m a proud alumna of Estill County High School and I went to Eastern Kentucky University for my undergrad. I came to the UofL School of Dentistry partially because it just felt right. It was a good fit for me.��

UofL News:��You’ve been part of the UofL community for more than 30 years as a student, faculty, associate dean and now interim dean. What has kept you here?��

Hill:��For me, I think I can distill it down into something very simple. I am addicted to the magic that happens – and it usually happens at chair-side when there’s a student as the operator, a patient in the chair and a faculty member working together. The charge that you get in a clinical setting or the charge that you get when you’re in a didactic setting or a research setting, when students have that ‘aha’ moment and they get it. You have helped them understand a major concept, and especially if it was something that they were struggling with. It is one of the biggest thrills I’ve ever experienced in my life. I think most of us who are in the educational environment live for those moments. There’s such a sense of accomplishment and joy that you’re passing on what someone gave to you.

UofL News: Many people say the School of Dentistry is like a family. What do you think?

Hill:��Very much so. This place is and has always been a family. It’s always felt like family to me. Sometimes it’s quantifiable in the ways that we support each other, and sometimes it’s just that sense of knowing that others are here for you and here to support you, and they’re interested in your success.

We want our graduates to be able to be the best, safe, competent, confident, beginning dental professional they can possibly be. Everything we do is oriented toward that. There’s no decision that is made that isn’t oriented toward that at its fundamental, basic level. We want our students to be successful.��

UofL News:��Thinking back to when you were in dental school, what is one great piece of advice from a faculty member that has stuck with you?

Hill:��We lost Dr. Tom O’Toole recently, and I’ve thought a lot about the contributions he made for all of us who were able to work with him in a clinical or classroom setting. He was a remarkable example of somebody who had such an excellent sense of human nature. I believe that in today’s language we would say he had a very high emotional intelligence.

He taught me so much about working with people, including children. He was a pediatric dentist, and so many of the things that he taught were focused in working with pediatric patients, but it can be applied to people of all ages. He never talked down to children, they just weren’t as knowledgeable as somebody who was a little bit older. And he treated everyone with respect. I use his advice every day.

UofL News: Could you ever have imagined that you’d end up serving as interim dean?

Hill:��Not in a million years. I feel like I represent every woman who has ever gone through this institution. I feel like I represent every woman who’s ever worked for this institution. It’s really important for us in our history, and I can’t tell you what a privilege it is to be able to be the first woman to serve in this position.��

UofL News: What are your goals as the current leader of the School of Dentistry?

Hill:��My goal is to stay on track with many of the initiatives that Dr. Bradley has started and continued in some cases. We’re not moving away from any of those things. We have a tremendous team assembled, and I have the privilege to work with many individuals dedicated to making sure we educate the best safe, competent dental professionals that we can educate.

My other goal is to continue to work toward our site visit from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) that’s coming up in 2023. It’s really important that we are successful. We are actively in preparation for all of the self-study that has to be done prior to accreditation, and it’s going very well.

I am truly honored that Dr. Bradley chose me to lead the school at this time, and I am fully committed to continuing its legacy of 135 years of excellence in patient care, education and research.

��

There was a learning curve involved given his tenure. Joshua joined the department of physiology in 1981 as an associate professor and will be celebrating his 40th year as a UofL faculty member this summer. He has held his position as the chairman of the department of physiology for the past 26 years – the longest chairmanship in the department’s history.

When asked about the biggest obstacle he and his department have faced, Joshua stated, “we had to make a decision pretty early on what (the department of physiology) would do – we felt that going virtually was not only best for the faculty, but it’s also going to be best for our program.”

Throughout the last year, Joshua familiarized himself with various videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Breakout rooms have been especially useful as Joshua employs team-based learning with his students. He credits the younger members of the department’s teaching faculty for lending their expertise during the transition to online learning.��

“Key people in our teaching faculty are in their 30s or so, and we’re all working together to find new and innovative ways to present the course material. Of course, we had a few faculty members that were a bit cautious of the change (to online learning), but we were able to overcome that because we had individuals that felt comfortable making that transition and helping others,” he said.

In addition to implementing the features of videoconferencing, Joshua has also taken advantage of remote meetings by doubling the number of mock interviews he offers to students. Before the pandemic, Joshua met with one or two students monthly to help them prepare for professional school interviews. He is now able to meet with at least twice as many students, especially with recent graduates that are outside of the Louisville area.

Joshua further commended the transition of the university’s into an online program. The free six-week program is designed for prospective medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and aims to prepare future scholars from underrepresented populations within the health professions for success within health professions schools. Despite the challenges put in place by COVID-19, nearly 80 students were able to participate remotely in the program in the summer of 2020. Joshua, who contributes to the program through the two-credit course offered by the department of physiology, was thankful that the unique opportunity could still be offered to students from those underrepresented populations.

Joshua’s colleagues are quick to praise his leadership and commitment to adapting his teaching and the department during a pandemic. Jeff Falcone, a professor in the physiology department, stated, “Dr. Joshua is a leader with vision, motivation, intelligence and wisdom. He is a leader who leads by example as well as by inclusiveness both intellectually and emotionally. In fact, our 84-year-old faculty member purchased his own Zoom account so that he could learn, grow and interact for the betterment of student learning and understanding. All this is the product of the open vision and encouraging mission set out by Dr. Joshua. That encouragement and that emphasis in both leadership and participation himself, is what helps make Dr.��Joshua��an effective and positive role model for all he encounters.”

When asked if he had any words of encouragement for other university faculty members as the university continues navigating the pandemic, Joshua stated, “This is just an example of life and adversity. By adjusting through adversities, what happens is you become a stronger and more versatile person, educator and department. That’s what we have all gained because of the pandemic.”

While teaching in the Department of Biology, Schultz has focused on cellular and molecular biology, intermediary metabolism and medicinal plant biochemistry. Schultz’s research experience in plant biochemistry is applied in his lab to instigate specialized plant metabolites with therapeutic applications, such as breast cancer treatment, as well as plant lipids that can act as renewable petroleum replacement products.

After serving as a senator on the Faculty Senate for three years, Schultz assumes his position with two clear objectives in mind: representation and acknowledgement of additional faculty efforts outside of the classroom.

“I want to ensure the voice of the faculty is heard by making certain we have faculty representation in administrative decisions. The Faculty Senate has standing representatives on numerous administrative committees, and we are also asked to make many additional suggestions for appointments to other administrative committees.�� I have tried to make certain we have representation from diverse disciplines,” said Schultz.

“The Faculty Senate has done a good job of representing the teaching and service aspects of faculty life to the administration; I would like to address the research, creative and professional aspects of faculty efforts, and work to ensure all faculty are given sufficient time to pursue these efforts. This will strengthen our Carnegie R1 classification.”

Schultz spoke with UofL News about his professional and personal background.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about UofL?��

Schultz: I was attracted to UofL because of the blend of teaching, research and service.�� I grew up in an urban area and am a first-generation college graduate, so the feel and culture at UofL were good fits for me.�� I’m also a big fan of college athletics and so the blend of strong academics and nationally recognized athletics was important for me.

UofL News: How do you spend any free time you have?��

Schultz: I have a number of things I do with my free time. I enjoy weight training with my children. I enjoy gardening and beekeeping with my wife. I have a workshop at home and enjoy doing household/home repair and woodworking projects.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing to do in Louisville outside of work?��

Schultz: I enjoy hiking and bike riding on the Louisville Loop.

UofL News: What has motivated you to teach?

Schultz: I enjoy seeing others learn and succeed. One of the most rewarding things is when former students let me know that my courses have helped them succeed in life. I enjoy seeing the progression of students from lower level courses to higher level courses and seeing how much knowledge each has mastered and applied to complex problems.

UofL News: How long have you been involved in Faculty Senate and why did you join?

Schultz: I’ve been in the Faculty Senate for about three years. I saw the senate as a way to help ensure faculty viewpoints are represented to the administration. I have been fairly active in my department, college and at the university level, so my involvement in the Senate was a natural progression of my previous service work.

UofL News: What compelled you to seek out the chairmanship?

Schultz: I had contemplated taking on more impactful leadership roles. I decided to run for the chair of the senate because there was a need, and I felt that I could balance the high demands of this position while maintaining my current teaching and research commitments.��

UofL News: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?��

Schultz: I have two similar points. Both are research related, each from one of my doctoral research dissertation advisors: Never spend clean thinking on dirty data. Your results can never be better than the research materials you start with.

This honor recognizes an individual’s sustained contribution to the AoM/OCIS community through significant leadership roles, as well as scholarly impact and influence.

Ahuja has served the OCIS division in a variety of elected leadership roles, including professional development workshops chair, doctoral consortium chair (2008-2009), program chair (2009-2010) and division chair (2011-2012). In addition, she has been engaged in growth and development of the OCIS community through mentoring junior and senior scholars and doctoral students. Her early scholarship contributions revolved around online communities and virtual teams. In the past 10 years, her research areas have expanded to include work-life balance and remote work, gender issues in IT, Future of Work as well as communication media and mobile technology usage and impacts.

“It was a genuine surprise to be selected for the lifetime achievement award,” Ahuja said. “I have considered this division my professional home for the last 25 years, and so many outstanding members contribute to AoM and OCIS Division in significant ways. I can’t express how much it means to me to be recognized in this way by the division. I also hope the award adds to the visibility of the College of Business and UofL in the Academy of Management as well as the business community.”

Ahuja is senior editor of Information Systems Research and a five-time recipient of the UofL College of Business Faculty Research Award. She joined the faculty at UofL in 2007.

Founded in 1936, the Academy of Management is the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars with a community of more than 20,000 members in more than 120 countries. Members are professors and doctoral students in business schools at universities, academics in related social science and other fields, and practitioners who value knowledge creation and application. The academy’s OCIS division focuses on the study of behavioral, economic and social aspects of communication and information systems within and among organizations or institutions.

Despite the work and long hours endured by her predecessor () in the chair’s role, Wallace-Boaz didn’t hesitate to pursue the role.

“There are many changes at the university that are occurring at a staggering rate. New leadership, including the office of the president, has established a strong partnership with the faculty and is openly committed to shared governance,” she said.

She is especially looking forward to working with President Neeli Bendapudi.

“(Bendapudi) is student focused and completely committed to an equal partnership with the faculty, staff and students. I appreciate the deep love for the university that she has demonstrated in her few months on campus, and I am excited to work closely with her on both internal and external issues,” she said.

Wallace-Boaz, a Somerset native, has been teaching at UofL since 2000, and also earned her bachelor of music degree in Piano Performance here before going on to Northwestern University, where she earned master of music and a doctor of music in piano performance and pedagogy degrees.

Following her doctoral hooding ceremony from Northwestern, Wallace-Boaz lived in the Chicago area for eight years. However, she missed Kentuckiana and moved back in 1999 to teach at Indiana University Southeast for a year.

“After accepting the position at the University of Louisville in 2000, I was completely excited to be returning,” she said.

This marks Wallace-Boaz’s eighth year as a faculty senator. She has served as chair of the Redbook Committee, vice chair of the senate and chair of the Executive Committee. Taking over as chair seems like a natural progression.

“I remember my very first Faculty Senate meeting during which I was impressed with the commitment to shared governance demonstrated by my colleagues,” she said. “While the past three years have been filled with turmoil and unique challenges, I believe that the students, faculty and staff form the strong heart of the university, and that we will continue to be a leader in higher education for the persistence and demonstration of transparent communication and shared governance.”

Wallace-Boaz said her leadership style in this role focuses on two key points – listening and process.

“I believe strongly that communication begins with the ability to listen and understand the details of the issue and how it is affecting all parties involved. No issue is too small, and never should one apologize for sharing a problem or concern,” she said. “How issues are addressed is critical. Taking five minutes to discuss methods and processes can be the difference in effective and poor communication.”

In fact, communication is one of her main priorities.

“Effective communication is critical but challenging in an institution of this size,” she said. “I will continue to work closely with campus partners to optimize our methods of communication.”

Getting to know Wallace-Boaz

We asked Wallace-Boaz a quick round of personal questions to get to know her a little better.

Favorite thing about UofL: “The people!”

Favorite spot on campus: “That is a tough one. I love the campus and how it has transformed since my undergraduate years (1988-1992). To pick one, I would choose Grawemeyer Hall and the Oval. I love studying The Thinker, reminding me of the necessity to take time for thought and reflection during these busy days, and then walking up the steps into Grawemeyer, thinking of all the students, faculty, staff, administrators and many others who have walked these steps over the past decades with the ultimate goal of creating a strong university for the present and the future.”

What do you do in your free time: “I love to read (I am currently in two book clubs on campus) and to draw Zentangles.�� People are surprised when I do not list ‘playing piano.’ I LOVE the piano, it is my artistic life and central to my teaching and research and creative activities. It is an important part of each day, especially when preparing for a concert or recording, so I do not include it when considering free time.”

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received: “Be yourself.”