The University of Louisville is deeply concerned about the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Absent Congressional action during the next six months, this decision could harm many members of our university community, their families and their loved ones.

We want you to know that we cherish every member of our campus community, and we will explore ways to ensure that a UofL education is accessible to all.

As our diversity slogan clearly states, “You Belong.”

For students, faculty and staff who are anxious or concerned about how DACA will affect them, the university is offering resources to help you cope:

• The UofL Counseling Center will be accepting drop-in appointments Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can find more information at 852-6585.
• The Cultural Center and its Hispanic/Latino Initiatives office are available to offer student support and resources. Call 852-6656 for more information.
• Our campus Undocumented Student Resource Council is a group of students, faculty, staff and friends who work on improving the experience of undocumented students. The next meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Cultural Center. For more information or to get involved, send an email.

Again, we want to stress that we value and will continue to support all members of our university family.

Sincerely,

Gregory Postel, MD, Interim President

Dale Billingsley, PhD, Interim Executive Vice President and University Provost

Postel will follow Neville Pinto, who is leaving the university to assume the presidency of the University of Cincinnati.

Postel said he was “overwhelmed and humbled” by the appointment. He added that his top priorities will be taking appropriate steps to rid the school of its probationary status by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and addressing financial issues facing the university, including a forensic audit of the UofL Foundation.

Board of Trustees Chair David Grissom praised Postel, expressing confidence he will be a good fit as interim president.

“He is very popular with the students, very popular with the faculty, and we are really lucky to have him,” Grissom said.

Postel currently serves as interim executive vice president for health affairs, a position to which he was appointed in December 2015. A faculty member since 1994, he has served as chair of the Department of Radiology, chief executive officer of University of Louisville Physicians and vice dean of clinical affairs for the School of Medicine.

He has been active in payment reform initiatives and medical practice reform projects.

Postel has played a key role in the formation and governance of numerous Health Sciences Center entities including Passport Health Plan and the Kentuckiana Medical Reciprocal Risk Retention Group.  He was the principal investigator on an institutional grant to establish imaging research facilities at UofL.  He is an active member of a number of academic societies including the American College of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America, was a board examiner for the American Board of Radiology and is a graduate of the Academy of Radiology Leadership and Management.