The awards highlight the impact of alumni across disciplines and communities and honor leadership in careers, service and philanthropy. In addition to the Alumni Fellow Awards for each of UofL’s schools and colleges, Louisville Alumni will present signature awards recognizing outstanding contributions in areas of inclusive excellence, military service and emerging leadership.

This year’s recipients include:

Alumnus of the Year

• Randall J. Bufford ’81

Bufford, a 1981 UofL College of Business graduate and founder of Trilogy Health Services, is a nationally recognized entrepreneur known for values-based leadership and a people-first approach. A former UofL Trustee and student manager for the 1980 NCAA Championship men’s basketball team, Bufford now leads 0924 Investments and the Bufford Family Foundation, which champions initiatives in health care, education and philanthropy, including scholarship support that is opening doors and changing lives for UofL students.

Alumni Fellows – Schools & Colleges

• College of Arts & Sciences: Elmer Lucille Allen ’02
• College of Business: David Krebs ’75
• School of Dentistry: Julie Watts McKee ’83
• College of ����ֱ�� & Human Development: Felicia Cumings Smith ’96, ’00
• Graduate School: Anees B. Chagpar ’09
• Kent School of Social Work & Family Science: Justin “Jay” Miller ’13
• Brandeis School of Law: Chadwick N. Gardner ’95
• University Libraries: Glenn Bossmeyer ’71, ’74, ’75
• School of Medicine: Steven T. Hester ’92, ’96, ’00
• School of Music: Amy I. Acklin ’98, ’00
• School of Nursing: Cynthia Logsdon
• School of Public Health & Information Sciences: Robin Elise Weiss ’01, ’12, ’15
• J.B. Speed School of Engineering: Peg O’Neil ’91
• Student Affairs Legacy Award: Kelly Hodges ’93, ’01

Signature Award Honorees

• Emerging Leader Award: Eric Wood ’08
• Inclusive Excellence Award: Loay Elbasyouni ’04, ’05
• Military Alumni Award: Al Riggle ’76
• Alumni Ambassador Award: Larry W. Horn Jr. ’08, ’11

“These honorees are leaders, innovators and difference-makers,” said Josh Hawkins, assistant vice president for alumni relations and annual giving. “Each recipient reflects the best of what it means to be a Louisville Cardinal; contributing to their fields, uplifting communities and proudly representing their alma mater.”

The 2025 honorees will be recognized during the annual Wilson Wyatt Alumni Awards ceremony on Oct. 23, as part of UofL’s Homecoming week festivities on the Belknap Campus.

All of the company’s participate in UofL Trager Institute’s network training hub, for example. Our School of Nursing houses a state-of-the-art simulation lab, upgraded just last year thanks to Trilogy’s $250,000 commitment.

And it just so happens that Trilogy’s founder, Randall J. Bufford, is one of our most prominent alums. In 2016, he was named the alumni award winner for the College of Business and just last month earned our inaugural Alumni Ambassador Award. The 1981 graduate was a part of UofL’s 1980 national championship men’s basketball team. He has since been recognized for his leadership in his profession and community, as Trilogy employs over 10,000 people and is considered to be one of the best senior housing companies in the world.

It’s no wonder, then, that Trilogy would tap into UofL’s expertise to transform its organization to emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion. The company’s DEI plan was developed earlier this year with the help of UofL researchers from the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, Geneva Stark, Jeffrey Sun, Heather Turner.

UofL’s researchers worked alongside Todd Schmiedeler, Trilogy’s chief engagement and innovation officer, and Priscila Mattingly, Trilogy’s chief human resources and inclusion officer. The team worked for a year collecting and spoke to every level of employee to capture the company’s strengths and improve both employee and resident outcomes.

“Trilogy Health Services has an impressive leadership team and has been dubbed one of the nation’s best workplaces for aging services. They care about their employees who are truly integrated as community members of the organization. They sought to expand their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and building off our existing relationship (which is based on trust and genuine interest in each other’s success), we also engaged with them on rethinking their practices, policies and priorities to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion actively and visibly became a critical component of their organizational culture and values,” Sun said.

“In fact, they revised their whole Environmental, Social & Governance structure so diversity, equity, and inclusion were not simply words or temporal concerns, but a lived experience where employees felt a sense of belonging and are hopefully having rich and valuable encounters across the company, even with their vendors and partners. It’s likely no organization has reached these aspirations, but Trilogy Health Services is trying, and we are honored to be partners with such a caring and focused company,” he added.

Together, the UofL and Trilogy team identified four key areas to advance Trilogy’s DEI efforts: Accountability, recruitment, retention and development, and culture.

Accountability: The DEI plan tasks Trilogy’s leaders to develop unit-specific and measurable annual diversity goals. The goals are also to be monitored quarterly, so leaders can assess progress and readjust if necessary. Leaders are also tasked with holding regular campus town halls to ensure all employees have a voice in enacting these changes.

Further, Trilogy is conducting an audit of its suppliers to ensure their values are consistent with Trilogy’s, and the organization will revise supplier contracts to include this consideration.

Recruitment: Trilogy will analyze job postings for content and placement to identify language or phrasing that may deter applicants. The company is also strengthening partnerships with organizations – such as universities and nonprofits – to help facilitate a recruitment pipeline. Finally, the company plans to establish a business resource group for networking – all with an objective of increasing the diversity of its applicant pools.

Retention and development: Trilogy is creating individualized employee growth plans to provide employees with steps for advancement into leadership roles. The plans are paired with advancement and mentorship programs that include training, resources and mentoring.

Culture: Trilogy aims to break down siloes by creating employee resource groups (ERGs) to focus on connecting people with similar interests across campuses and creating a stronger sense of belonging with the company.

This plan has been published in and will be presented next week at the 2021 annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher ����ֱ��. This isn’t likely the last of the UofL/Trilogy partnership, however.

“In the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, our commitment is to our community, and since 2019, we have been working with Trilogy to build and enhance its workforce through innovative learning designs such as apprenticeships and workforce diversity,” Sun said. “Under the leadership of (CEHD) Dean Amy Lingo, we plan to continue expanding our private/public partnerships to learn from each other and increase community engagement.”

Natalie Hewlett, CEHD’s coordinator for development and communications, contributed to this story.

Leaders of the UofL School of Nursing and Trilogy Health Services also announced an agreement to offer priority admission for Trilogy employees to attend the traditional bachelor of science in nursing program. Beginning in fall 2020, the school will work toward accepting 25 qualified applicants per semester, up to 50 annually. Trilogy Health Services will provide scholarship support and part-time, flexible hours to its employees who meet requirements for admission to the UofL School of Nursing.

The agreement between UofL and Trilogy Health Services is an extension of Trilogy’s recent $10-million work-based learning commitment to hire 200 Kentucky high school students into health care jobs as part of the Trilogy Scholar Program. The collaboration with UofL will create a pathway for these students to earn a four-year college degree.

“Community organization and foundation support are so important in our ability to prepare future health care providers, and we are pleased to be part of the visionary education pipeline of Trilogy Health Services,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, PhD.

“We understand the importance of fostering high quality nurses to care for and about our residents to support the delivery of excellent care in our community,” said Barbara Dimercurio, Trilogy Health Services’ Chief Nursing Officer. “High caliber training and education, such as what will be offered in the updated simulation lab, is key to developing these nurses. We are proud to partner with the University of Louisville to create a clear pathway for Trilogy Scholars to become nurses.”

Simulation Lab Transformation

Funding from The Bufford Family Foundation and Trilogy Health Services allowed for a lab on the third floor of the nursing school to be transformed into a four-room simulation suite and home health care space. In addition to doubling the number of simulation rooms, the renovations created a separate observation room for instructors. 

“Like UofL, we believe that when we invest in our community’s youth, we invest in our future,” said Susan Bufford. “That is why The Bufford Family Foundation is so passionate about supporting new technologies and resources for UofL students. We are honored to partner with UofL to grow the future leaders of the health care industry.”

The school also plans to purchase a fourth high-fidelity adult patient simulator. Prior to the lab upgrades, the school was restricted to using only two of its three adult mannequin simulators because of space constraints. The renovated lab allows for continuous use of all four adult simulators.

“On-campus patient simulation labs are essential to educating health care students,” said UofL School of Nursing Dean Sonya R. Hardin, PhD, MBA/MHA, APRN, NP-C, FAAN. “Simulators present numerous conditions that students respond to, including difficulty in breathing, seizures and heart attacks. Our students develop clinical judgment and learn how to respond in complex clinical situations.”

Cody Swift will graduate in May 2020 and says the simulation lab has helped him become more comfortable taking care of patients.

“This lab has given me the opportunity to not only build technical skills but also has helped me learn to better communicate with patients. We are blessed to have this simulation lab,” he said.

Check out video from the dedication ceremony: 

The funds will allow a lab on the third floor of the School of Nursing to be transformed into a four-room simulation suite and home health care space called the Trilogy Health Services Simulation Lab. In addition, a separate observation room for instructors will be built. Construction starts this summer and will be completed in the fall.

Also, the school will buy a fourth high-fidelity adult patient simulator that will be housed in the lab. The school has been restricted to using only two of its three adult simulators because of space constraints. During labs, groups of five to 10 observe a single student’s interaction with a patient simulator, and because of the limited space, students spend more time observing rather than administering interventions. 

The renovated lab will allow continuous use of all four adult simulators, doubling the time students spend as the caregiver from 20 to 40 hours during undergraduate education.

“The ability for nursing students to spend quality time performing hands-on learning is critical to ensure that the students have confidence in providing the highest quality care,” said Randall Bufford, CEO of Trilogy Health Services. “We are proud, both organizationally and personally, to provide the support needed to expand the clinical simulation lab.”

Hands-on learning in patient simulation labs is essential to educating health care students, enabling them to sharpen complex skills in preparation to face real patients. Simulators present numerous conditions that students respond to, including difficulty breathing, seizures and heart attacks.

“The School of Nursing is honored to partner with Randy and Susan Bufford and the Trilogy family in this technology investment for our students,” said School of Nursing Dean Marcia J. Hern, EdD, CNS, RN. “Practicing on a lifelike mannequin that can talk, breathe and have increased heart rate and blood pressure allows students to make sound decisions under the guidance and direction of our faculty and staff. At times, students are almost brought to tears when they realize the gravity of clinical decisions they will later make in real-life settings.”