By joining JED Campus, UofL demonstrates its commitment to the emotional well-being of its students. JED Campuses embark on a multi-year strategic collaboration that not only assesses and enhances the work that is already being done but also helps create positive, lasting, systemic change in the campus community. The program provides schools with a framework for supporting student mental health, as well as assessment tools, feedback reports, a strategic plan and ongoing support from the JED higher education team.

“Our students’ wellbeing is our top priority,” said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. “We know the COVID pandemic has been particularly hard on our students and others across the country. JED Campus will provide another tool to help us best protect and support our students throughout their college careers.” 

 “The college years are the age when many mental health issues first manifest, and it can be a time of significant stress and pressure,” said JED CEO John MacPhee. “JED Campus helps schools by working with them to survey everything their university does to support their students’ emotional health and find practical ways to augment these efforts in a comprehensive way. We believe the implementation of a campus-wide approach to mental health will lead to safer, healthier communities, and likely greater student retention.”

UofL’s membership in JED Campus begins with establishing an interdisciplinary, campus-wide team to assess, support and implement program, policy and system improvements and completing a confidential, self-assessment survey on its mental health promotion, substance use and suicide prevention efforts. Upon completion of the assessment, JED subject matter experts provide schools with a comprehensive feedback report identifying successes and opportunities for enhancements. Over the course of four years, the University of Louisville will collaborate with JED to help implement enhancements. All self-assessment responses and feedback reports are confidential.�� 

Michael Wade Smith, vice president for university relations and chief of staff, provided senators with information on the vice president for diversity and equity search. The search committee evaluating candidates for this role include Wade Smith and 18 other university leaders, faculty and staff, with representation from UofL’s Black Faculty and Staff Association, AAPI Employee Resource Group, Hispanic Latin@ Faculty and Staff Association and LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Association.

“We are now at the stage where the committee will be meeting to take in the feedback from those folks who met with the candidates and make a recommendation on the candidates that the committee believes are viable based on our experience, feedback and a provided unranked list of the strengths and weakness of those viable candidates,” stated Wade Smith.

The VP of diversity and equity will report directly to the university president, serving as a member of the president’s cabinet, senior leadership team and other key institutional committees. This position serves to create and maintain a campus environment that reflects UofL’s mission, vision and values as a premier anti-racist metropolitan research university.

“We brought in five candidates, and I think was an incredibly strong pool; two of the individuals are in associate deans for diversity roles at significant institutions, one candidate has been an experienced chief diversity officer in the government sector and two of the candidates are sitting vice presidents of diversity at large top-tier research one, division one athletic institutions,” Wade Smith said.

Interim University President Lori Gonzalez, then serving in her capacity as executive vice president and university provost, provided senators with COVID-19 vaccination rates and an update on the status of university-wide vaccine mandates. Gonzalez reported that UofL’s vaccination rate remains at 91% campus wide.

“We have been transitioning data collection for the health records from public health, so there has been a delay in tracking,” Gonzalez said. “We were talking about the vaccine mandate and to be ready for that, the COVID-19 call center has been contacting the 633 staff, faculty and student employees that we had no records on, and they whittled that number down.”

Gonzalez reported that as of Dec. 1, 2021, a total of 162 university employees were unvaccinated and that the Business Operations COVID Support Team is in the process of confirming vaccination status for 146 other employees. Additionally, senators were informed that vaccines will not be mandated by the university at this time due to a .

“On Nov. 30, we received information about the injunction from the 5th Circuit Court that blocks the contractor COVID-19 mandate. Because of that, we’re pausing our vaccine mandate,” said Gonzalez. “We are still highly encouraging [vaccination], we are still keeping up with our masking, we’re not pausing in the requirement for testing and we will see that’s the mandate for unvaccinated people.”

Senators were presented with a proposal for the addition of a new program in the School of Business, a master of science in accountancy and analytics (MSAA). The proposal included revisions addressing concerns voiced during last month’s senate meeting and received approval from the academic programs committee. UofL’s Faculty Senate unanimously passed the proposal, and the 34-hour master’s program has proposed implementation in fall 2022.

Committee reports and a of the meeting can be accessed on the webpage. The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Jan. 12 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

A native of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, Gonzalez has served as UofL executive vice president and university provost since April 2021.

“I am humbled to step into this leadership role at a time when our university has tremendous momentum,” Gonzalez said. “Our students are flourishing; our faculty are changing lives; our staff members are performing at an extraordinary level; and our passionate and loyal supporters, alumni and fans have never been more committed to elevating the University of Louisville.”  

Gonzalez previously served from 2015 until the spring of 2021 as the vice chancellor for academic, faculty and student affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.��Prior to that role, she held academic and administrative positions at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, the University of Kentucky and Appalachian State University, where she served as provost and executive vice chancellor for three years.

In addition, she served as special advisor to the senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina General Administration, the North Carolina public higher education authority.

In her first act as interim president, Gonzalez appointed deputy athletic director Josh Heird as interim director of athletics, effective immediately. Heird has been deputy AD since 2019.

Per his contract, Postel will earn a salary of $950,000 for at least one year. The board also awarded him a $100,000 bonus thanking him for his work as interim president, a role he has served in .��

Postel has been at the university for 24 years. The former chairman of UofL’s radiology department was named interim vice president for health affairs in 2015 and has continued in that role during his time as interim president.

Postel’s new contract begins May 15 and is for one year. After May 15, 2019, he becomes an at-will employee.

During his time as president, Postel led the university through an impressive list of accomplishments, including:

• Removal from probation by SACSCOC and completion of 10-year SACSCOC reaffirmation including QEP review
• Completion of 2016-2017 academic year ahead of budget and forecast for completion of 2017-2018 academic year ahead of budget
• Creation of a balanced budget for 2018-2019 academic year with introduction of revenue targets (risk/reward)
• Major restructuring/cultural change in Athletics
• Unwind of the joint operating agreement with KentuckyOne Health
• Successful on budget near completion of four large construction projects: Belknap Academic Building, Student Activities Center, Pediatric Medical Office Building and Papa John’s Cardinal Football Stadium Expansion (All should be completed this summer.)
• Success in strategic enrollment management with applications for admission at 15,000 compared to 11,000 at this time last year
• Continued progress in community engagement highlighted by groundbreaking of a $100 million project in West Louisville in conjunction with Passport

Also during Postel’s tenure as interim president, deans of the Speed School, Brandeis School of Law, College of Business and School of Nursing were appointed. Vice presidents were named for Enterprise Risk Management, Athletics, Community Engagement and Operations. Also, a new CFO was named for the HSC campus, a new director named for the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and a new head men’s basketball coach was named.

In his appointment letter, board members thanked Postel for an “outstanding job.”

“You have been a tireless change agent who has worked effectively with the board to put the university on sound financial footing, rebuild trust and relationships within the university and across the state, and position the university for growth,” the letter states. “Leading through times of transition is difficult, and you have done it superbly.”

Earlier this month, UofL’s Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution thanking Postel for his interim leadership during challenging times.

As part of his role as EVP for health affairs, Postel will be responsible for ensuring that University Physicians Group Inc. is a regional center of excellence for health sciences education, research and clinical care. He will be tasked with participating in and facilitating strategic planning for the University Medical Center, Passport, UofL Health Care, University Physicians Associates, the James Graham Brown Cancer Center and related entities. This includes determining the allocation of resources from UMC, UPA and UofL Health Care.

Postel will also serve on the board of directors for UMC and as chair of the board and CEO of University Physicians’ Group Inc. He will report directly to the president and will advise the president on policies, programs and operations.

Postel said the media availability meeting was an important opportunity because he has an obligation to be transparent.

“My style is open communication,” he said. “Because of that, we tend to be forthcoming with documents. It’s not necessary to file for open records requests when the information is publicly offered up on our website. We’ll do our very best to maintain that as long as I’m in this position.”

Postel outlined his initial priorities, including the accelerated growth of the university.

“For this to be a vibrant organization for years and years to come, it’s important to focus on opportunities to expand and offer more services in the areas where we’re needed and can be of value to community,” he said.

Budget

Postel also noted that the administration is currently working on the budget and will present it to the Board of Trustees in May. Because UofL is not raising tuition this year, the budgeting process is expected to be a bit more challenging, he said.

“We are holding true to that (no increase in tuition) commitment. I’m excited about that for our students, both existing and those joining the university in the coming year,” Postel said. “But that also poses challenges for us tasked with achieving a balanced budget because we don’t have additional revenue. It is an opportunity and a challenge that we gladly accept.”

SACS Accreditation

Postel has also spent much of his first few weeks in Frankfort meeting with the Governor and state legislators on how to rectify UofL’s probationary status issued by the university’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in December.

“It is important to note that we still have full accreditation. We are making sure the university is responding in every way possible to concerns about accreditation that have been posted by SACS,” he said. “All of the legislators I’ve talked to are keenly aware of the issue and understand how critical it is for these issues to be resolved with SACS. They all have very good intentions to help the University of Louisville through this process.” 

Any documents that pertains to this issue, whether prepared by the university or by SACS, will be shared with the campus community on the Louisville.edu/president website. UofL has until March 3 to respond to SACS’ most recent letter, which is also available online.

Q&A

Other topics posed by the media during a brief Q&A session included Postel’s dual role as interim president and interim EVP of Health Affairs, the national search for a permanent president and performance-based funding of state institutions.

Dual role

Postel said it is possible for him to maintain his position as Interim EVP of Health Affairs while serving as president because of the teams that are in place at the university.

“The bottom line is I have to just be very careful about my priorities. I am spending my time on those things that are extremely important to both campuses,” he said. “I’m very efficient, I work a lot of hours, I delegate and it’s not forever, so that’s why it works.”

He added that it is important to maintain his position at HSC because that campus provides a substantial part of the university’s livelihood, representing about 55 percent of faculty and about 80 percent of research.

Search for a permanent president

The search for a permanent president is a long, multi-step process that entails a search committee and a search firm. Postel said he was told to expect about a year and a half in the position.

He added that he is not actively campaigning for the job as president, but is “always happy to do what UofL asks me to do.”

“If asked to serve, I would certainly consider it,” he said.

Performance-based funding

Postel was asked about his opinion on performance-based funding, a topic Governor Matt Bevin has proposed and discussed most recently at the State of the Commonwealth Address earlier this month.

“I’m very much in favor of performance-based funding. Even though I’m an academic at heart, I have a very business-like approach to running an organization because businesses have to be viable,” he said. “To be held accountable and paid at least in part based on some kinds of metrics is an expectation we should all have.”

Postel said this approach could be challenging because different universities may have different perspectives about what they contribute, but he favors key metrics such as:

• Producing more graduates
• Getting students their degrees in a reasonable amount of time
• Making sure graduates are employable

“I think these are the types of things we can all be supportive of. What are the workforce needs in the city and the state and are we meeting them?” Postel said.

Background

Postel replaces Dr. Neville Pinto, who was named the new president of the University of Cincinnati in December. He joined UofL’s School of Medicine in 1994 as an assistant professor of radiology specializing in neuroradiology. He later became the chair of the Department of Radiology.

In 2011, Postel was the founding chairman of the board for University of Louisville Physicians, and later took on the added role of CEO. He was a key player in unifying dozens of medical practices under the ULP umbrella.

Postel was named vice dean of Clinical Affairs in 2014, and interim EVP for Health Affairs in 2015. As EVP, he directs approximately 1,000 faculty members and 3,600 students.

He earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1988 and his undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster in Ohio in 1984.

Postel’s meeting is available below in its entirety.��

Following the Board of Trustees meeting July 27, Chairman Pro Tem Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman said, “The University of Louisville Board of Trustees today accepted the immediate resignation of Dr. James Ramsey as president of the university. During the past 14 years, Dr. Ramsey has guided the institution through a remarkable transformation. By any measure – student retention and graduation rates, research funding and successes, student achievement and fundraising – the University of Louisville is a different, far better institution because of Dr. Ramsey.”

Bridgeman added that a national search will begin immediately for the next UofL president.��

In the meantime, Interim Provost Neville Pinto will serve as Acting President, pursuant to university policy as outlined in The Redbook, UofL’s basic governance document.

“Dr. Pinto is an accomplished leader, and the board recognizes and appreciates his deep commitment to our institution,” Bridgeman said.

In a separate statement, Dr. Pinto said, “I am honored to serve in this capacity. With your support, I look forward to ensuring that the transition is accomplished with a renewed commitment to our students, our core values, and our broader university mission.”

Dr. Pinto called it a privilege to serve under Dr. Ramsey for the past 15 months as Interim Provost.��

“Under his presidency, the university has made remarkable gains, catapulting our reputation as a national, metropolitan research university. We are collectively grateful for his transformational presidency,” he said, adding that UofL’s leadership team is committed to building on this success.�� 

“The last few months have been challenging for our entire campus community. I want to thank you, our faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends, for your unwavering commitment to the university during this time. Each of you plays an important role in advancing the vital work we do in education, research and discovery, and community service and support,” Dr. Pinto said in his statement. “Our successes have been due to your hard work and accomplishments. I am confident that you will continue to deliver with passion and energy as we prepare our university to attract an outstanding new president.”

Dr. Pinto added that he will appoint an Interim Provost “shortly” to lead UofL through the implementation of the 21st Century University Initiative: Powering the 2020 Plan.��

“As we start our new academic year, I look forward to welcoming over 22,000 students to our campuses. Among these students is an outstanding freshman class and talented new graduate and professional students,” he said. “I will be energized by their excitement and optimism. I know you will as well.” 

Neville G. Pinto’s appointment as Interim Executive Vice President and University Provost at the University of Louisville became effective July 1, 2015. He joined UofL in 2011 as Dean of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering. While Dean, his accomplishments included spearheading development of the Belknap Engineering and Applied Sciences Research Park and significantly strengthening the university’s relationship with GE. This partnership has led to educational and career opportunities for UofL students and encouraged GE to bring its FirstBuild microfactory to campus.

Prior to joining the Speed School, Dr. Pinto served at the University of Cincinnati in various capacities, including Vice Provost (2006-2011).

Dr. Pinto was educated at the Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi, where he earned his Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, and at Penn State University where he earned his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering.

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