Two UofL College of Arts & Sciences winter graduates are looking to their hometowns for guidance in their professions and hope to serve the people who shaped them. Chloe Hale and Emmy Walters, studying anthropology and biology respectively, plan to continue their education in graduate school with the goal of utilizing their advanced degrees to support communities like those in which they grew up.

Documenting home

Moving to a city from a rural county can be a culture shock. Coming from Martin County, Hale quickly realized she had a different experience growing up in Kentucky than many of her classmates. Hale’s quiet anxiety around drinking tap water is something few could understand.

“It makes me sad to see on the internet when a place in my home county doesn’t have water and it’s not gonna be back on for two weeks or something like that,” Hale said. “Just the fact that I can drink the water here in Louisville from the tap makes me feel guilty, in a way, because my family members are there, and they can’t drink the water.”

Hale grew up in an Appalachian community where clean drinking water was not a guarantee or to be taken for granted. Martin County lost its regular access to safe water due to infrastructure, resource access, mining contamination and environmental destruction.

“I think when you can’t drink the water there’s this little piece of trauma in the back of your mind every time you drink from the tap,” Hale said. “It’s like, ‘Is it clean? Can I? Is this drinkable?’”

For an independent study, Hale chose to document how hairstylists back home struggled to work without guaranteed access to clean water. She asked her sister and fellow hairstylists to take pictures throughout their workday anytime they encountered the need to use water.

“I decided that it would be a good idea to examine water access through a group of women that rely on water for an income,” Hale explained. “Hairstylists need water for absolutely everything: to clean, to wash hair, to rinse hair, to make different cleaning solutions.”

The project used these pictures as a “photo voice” to document and display the obstacles the Martin County hairstylists encounter every day due to the lack of access to consistently safe tap water.

While returning home is a complicated option with the ongoing water crisis, Hale hopes to continue her education in Appalachian studies at UofL with her sights set on a future PhD to continue to document and uplift her hometown and other communities.

“I definitely love my hometown, but think I’ve been able to curate what it means to be Appalachian a little bit more just because it is its own culture and it is an identity I’m proud of,” Hale said.

A better vision for Kentucky’s future

Emmy Walters’ first connection to optometry was through her love of reading and an early vision assessment at school. She was one of the only members in her family to need glasses and this sparked a curiosity about the relationship between her vision and the biological mechanisms that supported her eyesight and her favorite hobby. As she aged, her curiosity for vision only grew as she understood the obstacles to both eye assessments and literacy in her community.

“Growing up, our access to eye care was sufficient, but then you get in surrounding counties where there won’t be an optometrist for 45 minutes,” Walters said.

Walters early childhood love for reading was protected by her access to an optometrist, and an early assessment allowed her natural curiosity toward books to go uninterrupted. Walters still reads regularly and will attend optometry school next year. After shadowing an optometrist in Campbellsville Kentucky, her hometown, she hopes to practice in a similar rural area.

“I felt like I was home, like I was talking to my own family members; the way that they approached me and talked about things is something I’m used to, and it was comforting,” Walters said.

While shadowing in the practice, Walters began to see the personal impact she could have as an optometrist practicing outside of a major city.

“At least a third of the people that came in had never been to an eye doctor or hadn’t been in a very long time, and most of the time those were people from surrounding areas,” Walters said.

Walters hopes to one day combine her interest in optometry with her love for reading by supporting literacy through eye exams and philanthropy.

Interested in pursuing a degree or certificate program with UofL? Check out the�� to find a program.

During the April 20 event, participants of CeLOUbrate Print engaged in printmaking by creating large, hand-carved wooden stamps, or “woodcuts” and driving over them with a steamroller. With a quick training, a driver’s license and a rental steamroller, Singel was prepared to operate this unique printing press.

“The whole premise is building community,” Singel said. “One of the many reasons I fell in love with printmaking is it’s the democratic multiple. Where would we be without printmaking in terms of it is the way that we disseminate information?”

This art process involves creating an image via a woodcut, etching or engraving and using ink to create copies on paper or canvas like a stamp. Lithography and screen-printing are also forms of printmaking. An original work can be replicated endlessly with basic supplies and processes which eliminate boundaries to sharing work or marketing art.

Printmaking is inherently collective by nature and is a simple form of mass production of artistic work. The creation, production and sharing of a print can all be completed by one operator, removing many obstacles to sharing artwork or messages to build community connections. Additionally, many prints will have small variances from shifting equipment or blotting ink so despite being a mostly mechanical process, each print will have its own unique characteristics and value from the artist’s production.

“When people pull their very first print, it’s this really magical moment because their mind is blown, but they also understand exactly how and why it’s happening,” Lewis said. “You get to watch the light bulb go off.”

In addition to UofL, several sponsors and local businesses supported Singel and Lewis in their effort to bring more people together through CeLOUbrate Print and its workshops including Fund for the Arts, Printed Zine and Portland Museum. UofL alumni William Smith served as Lewis’s collaborator from Portland Museum and assisted with grant writing, advertising and planning the event over eight months.

Ahead of CeLOUbrate Print, Lewis organized over a dozen woodblock carving workshops to help prepare participants to make prints with the steamroller press. The workshops were an addition from Singel’s steamroller press events in previous years. Lewis’s passion for the project comes out of the desire to make printmaking more accessible and this is the driving goal of their studies in printmaking and public humanities.

“Printmakers assume things have to be in a very specific way, your borders have to be clean, no smudges so it’s usually done in a shop – it’s done with a press,” Lewis said. “It’s done this way, so I really wanted to have an event that not only made people know what printmaking is, but it also made that knowledge accessible and doable in your kitchen.”

Alongside the CeLOUbrate Print event, the Portland Museum unveiled a new printmaking exhibit titled The museum invited Louisville printmakers to display their work but encouraged the featured artists to invite other printmakers from outside the region to also participate. The exhibit is a practice of building connections between Louisville’s artists and other pockets of printmakers across the nation. “Shop Talk” will be on display at the Portland Museum until the end of August.

To keep up with UofL’s art students and programming, visit .

Honeybees have always been a part of��Robinson’s��life��as she��first learned about beekeeping from family members who’ve cared for beehives through generations, starting with her��grandfather,��and��then her father.��Beehives bring nostalgic scents and sounds to��Robinson, whose earliest memories include following her grandfather around their family hives in Meade County, Ky., harvesting honey for their��“Bee Happy Farms”��honey jars.

“My grandfather had this big garden and orchard with apple trees, so he had the bees to pollinate them,”��Robinson said. “I��just��remember playing around the garden and being close to the bees. They��weren’t��ever interested in me because I��wasn’t��bothering them, so that fear��kind of��got eliminated when I was pretty young.”

After the death of Robinson’s��grandfather, her family kept a hive on his property to support the orchard. She and her father now tend to the inherited bees. “It’s��crazy that��it’s��a family tradition that can carry��on,��beyond someone like that,”��Robinson reflected.

The UofL’s beekeeping internship, too, has brought Robinson closer to her��father who she��now asks for advice when dealing with new obstacles facing��UofL’s��beehives. His insights keep a heritage of beekeeping knowledge from disappearing.

Everything about beekeeping can be done��in��a variety of��ways, from how the hive is��built and how to handle the bees to the protective clothing worn by beekeepers.��

“It’s��like��a dance to specifically move with the bees and see which frame��they’re��mostly on and which one I should touch and which one I��shouldn’t,”��Robinson said.

As a beekeeper, Robinson has developed her own style under the guidance of her father and the UofL Sustainability mentorship.��

“I��read somewhere that bees can remember their��beekeeper’s��face, so I always try��to��talk to them when I get in the hive and just see how��they’re��doing,”��Robinson said.��“There are old folktales about the��‘telling of the��bees,’ so��there’s��a strong connection between beekeepers and their bees.”

A Spring Sting

Beekeeping��isn’t��always comfortable,��even��for a legacy beekeeper.

“I��have gotten stung a few times, but after��the second��time��it’s��no big deal,”��Robinson said.��“And��every time I do��get stung, I never blame the bees.��It’s��not their fault that��they’re��stinging, they��just��think��I’m��like a bear trying to get their honey.”

Bees often face a fear from people, much like snakes or bats, and many believe that their presence always means potential danger. However, bees are defensive, not aggressive, so their sting is a last resort. Like other animals, bees fear humans more than people fear them and prefer keeping to themselves.��

According to Robinson, even with wasps and hive beetles, honeybees defend the hive by surrounding the pests to block them from an area or to overheat them with their wing movements.��

But keeping bees also��comes with its rewards and pleasures. To extract honey from the hive, Robinson first determines how much honey needs to��be left behind��for the bees. The frames are then removed,��and��the bees��are brushed��into an empty super box/hive box. Finally, the beeswax on the frames is uncapped with a blade to release the honey and the frames are placed in a spinner to remove, filter and jar the honey. Beeswax is often collected during the filtering process and can also��be used for various products like lip balm.

“One of my favorite things about beekeeping is just the smell of the��beehives,��it’s��this��really sweet��aroma. I think��it’s��really special��and really cool to introduce new people to that, and the sound of the buzzing from the hives,”��Robinson said.��“It can��definitely��be intimidating, but��I’ve��found it to be a��little��bit more soothing because I know bees are in there and that��they’re��happy.”

As��UofL’s��beekeeping intern, Robinson cares for the beehives year-round. Before the winter, Robinson adds entrance reducers and hay bales around the hive to reduce wind-chill. Throughout the early spring, she visits the hives a couple of times a month to monitor the bees’ behavior, add pollen patties, remove any pests and add more hive frames��which��are��used��by the bees to build honeycombs.

After the bees become more active in the spring, honey can��start to��be harvested��through the summer.��Robinson dresses in a beekeeping suit that covers her legs, arms and face in one sealed garment to protect her from her buzzing friends.��She also burns natural wood shavings to calm the bees down if��she’s��in the hives��for a��longer��amount of time��than��normal.��Robinson uses a brush to gently guide the bees out from any tight spots or crevices to keep��the bees��safe��as she��carefully removes frames and places them on a rack to check the��honeycomb’s��structure and��honey��production.��

“You really count on every bee to help your hive survive,”��Robinson said. “So,��it’s��a very gentle process.”

Last year, one UofL hive produced about 12-pint jars of honey and grew enough to create a second hive.��

Robinson says there’s��no negative aspect in harvesting the bees’ honey when done��properly.

Tending to the hives functions like a symbiotic relationship where the keeper protects the hives from pests, cold, moisture and hunger while harvesting honey for consumption. Seeing the hive thrive and overcome obstacles is as rewarding for Robinson as collecting honey.

“Seeing how much everybody likes the honey is really cool. Not that I made it, but it feels like I helped at least jar it,”��Robinson said.��“It’s��cool to see the different tastes of what this honey is like compared to a different��hive’s��honey.”

Supporting the Hive

Caring for bees��not only��ties Robinson to her community and family, but it also��fulfills a called duty to the environment and sustainability.��

“The responsibility as UofL’s beekeeping intern to me is to show kindness and consideration toward ecology, urban agriculture and every little pollinator that comes my way,” Robinson said. “To help our bees is an honor because I’m also helping our local and community gardens, wildlife and student outreach on sustainable, eco-friendly practices.”

Honeybees are��an important��keystone species as pollinators��and��their success could��be directly tied��to the success of future generations. Keeping beehives helps secure a sustainable future and protects��an important��species from eradication. In trade, beekeepers can harvest honey and beeswax from hives��to use��for various purposes.

“It’s��just important for everybody to know that you can absolutely be a beekeeper wherever as long as you have a yard and some plants nearby,”��Robinson said.��“You just have to know some pretty basic things about bees��and��how to use the equipment.”

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability��initiatives,��created the beekeeping internship to help connect student learning with sustainable agriculture and nature stewardship.��Mog works closely with Robinson to manage��the��hives and honey harvesting��at UofL.��The two also participate in programming on-and-off campus to better connect the Louisville community with honeybee conservation.

“Anyone who cares about sustainability needs an intimate understanding of how nature works, and I find��there’s��no better way to do that than to crack open a beehive and observe��what’s��going on,”��Mog said.��“I learn so much from my bees!”

After graduation, Robinson hopes to continue beekeeping��either through��volunteering or keeping her own hives.��“I would love to have some beehives of my own one day as��kind of��a family tradition, help my dad still take care of his bees and hopefully get more involved with the����

KSBA offers resources, workshops and programs to help create new beekeepers and share knowledge.

Interested in becoming��UofL’s��next beekeeping intern? Contact��.

Earlier in February, community partner and UofL neighbor, Dave Barker led participants through a maple tapping workshop, installing taps on several trees in the center of campus. Barker instructed participants on the best practices for tree tapping without causing harm to the trees. He explained that sap flows are much more accessible to tap after temperatures swing from below freezing at night to above freezing during the day, creating an internal pressure that carries sap through the tree. After these conditions are met, sap may be seen leaking through natural scars. The only equipment then needed to harvest sap is a drill to make a one-inch hole, a tap to hammer in, tubing and a covered bucket. Once the sap is harvested, it’s then boiled down to remove the water and create syrup.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives says tree tapping is a sustainable way to create local maple syrup and sugary products while cutting personal emissions. Combining maple tapping with other gardening and farming practices can make an important impact in reducing individual environmental impacts.

“I think the most important thing we get out of this project is a better understanding of sustainability, which is all about tapping into the local resources right under our noses that we tend to ignore,” Mog said. “As we learned at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, what makes modern life so precarious and unsustainable is an over-reliance on extractive economies that pull in resources from all over the place. Rather than spending a bunch of money and burning a bunch of fossil fuels to ship in syrup from Vermont, I’d much rather see us make our own and reconnect with the abundance that nature provides for us right here in Louisville.”

To make a gallon of maple syrup about 30–60 gallons of sap is needed. Assuming weather conditions support the flow of sap, UofL Sustainability hopes to produce a few gallons of syrup from Belknap campus trees. While the workshop focused on tapping maple trees, several other tree species can be tapped for sap to make syrup. Birch, hickory, sycamore and other types of trees can be used to create unique syrups with different flavor profiles from maple syrup.

The annual maple tapping workshop is part of . The Garden Commons is a collectively managed space open to all students, staff, faculty and community members. Participants who assist in the garden’s projects are welcome to share in the harvest and take their share of organic produce.

The Garden Commons hosts several workshops and events to get volunteers engaged in recognizing the accessible abundance of gardening and foraging. Upcoming events include workshops on orchard care, berry foraging and community gardening in abandoned urban spaces. Garden Commons intern and UofL student Savannah Dowell organized this year’s maple tapping workshop.

“I want everyone who participates in the Garden Commons to walk away with the understanding and confidence that they, too, can grow, forage or learn anything their heart desires. The world of sustainable urban agriculture can be overwhelming, but don’t become debilitated by the plethora of possibilities,” Dowell said. “Whether you start with a mass-scale maple tapping project or a windowsill herb garden – just start!”

Over the coming weeks, Cardinals can help empty sap buckets into collection barrels at the North Information Center and behind Gottschalk Hall by . ��

Taste UofL’s maple syrup and honey at this year’s on Friday, April 19, from noon – 1 p.m. at the Cultural & Equity Center 176 (Belknap Village North).

View pictures on .

UofL News: You have served at the University of Louisville for 24 years. What is it about the institution that has compelled you to continue investing in this community?

Kevin Ledford: I served the university first as a student temporary worker, and then later as a full-time employee for the past 18 years. If I had to pick one thing that has compelled me to continue to invest in the UofL community, it would be the people. I see daily how passionate everyone is about the vitally important work we do in educating future generations. During my years, I have interacted with departments and people all over the university and they are almost universally dedicated and passionate about the work we do, and their role in it.

UofL News: Some may not understand or appreciate the purpose of a staff senate. Can you describe the significance of its impact, along with some distinguishing features of the UofL Staff Senate?

Ledford: To me, UofL’s Staff Senate provides a voice and representation of staff community, gives feedback to administration and advocates for staff outcomes that will hopefully improve conditions that help make the university a better place to work. We work collaboratively with administration and the other shared governance bodies, such as the Faculty Senate and the Student Government Association to help accomplish these goals

UofL News: How do you plan to use your new position to develop changes in ways that uniquely leaves your mark?

Ledford: I want to use my position to advocate for investment in our human capital, our employees. One of the key issues I have heard repeatedly is how we struggle to get and keep good talent in the staff areas and to maintain staffing levels that set us up for success. I think by advocating for that investment in our staff, we can improve the ability of our staff to support the goal of educating our students, providing them and the faculty who teach them a better experience.

UofL News: What would you say are the greatest factors in your life that have brought you vocationally to where you are today?

Ledford: I am an Information Technology person by profession. My IT background tends to make me approach things in a very process-and-systems-driven mindset. This has really been a benefit to me as I am in the role of Staff Senate chair. I am a firm believer that if you have good systems in place and your process is well designed, then it should be easier to adapt and innovate. IT also must be very collaborative and communicative, so those are skills I try and use as much as possible.

UofL News: Everyone loves telling and hearing a good story; what is one of the most memorable moments you have from your time on staff thus far at UofL?

Ledford: A very personal story comes to mind when you ask that question. In 2009, I ended up with a very bad case of swine flu, that became pneumonia and eventually ended up with me in a medically induced coma for a month. During that time, the people who I worked with and worked for, were amazingly supportive. I didn’t have a lot of sick time built up at that point, so I ran out of it quickly while dealing with that and my recovery. Those I worked with and even folks I didn’t know very well donated sick time. It is a lot of why I think that program is so important for supporting those in need, and I encourage those with time to donate to the Shared Leave Program. It also shows the heart of the folks who work here and how they will come together to support each other in times of need. We have great folks, and it is amazing when you get to see them at their very best.

To learn more about the Staff Senate and what they accomplish for the work culture of the university, visit the

UofL News: Tell us a bit about your position as professor of chemistry. How did you land at UofL and what interests you in this work?

Eugene Mueller: I started at UofL in August of 2007 – they hired me away from the University of Delaware, and I remain very happy with my decision to come here. In regard to how I ended up in chemistry? Well, spring break of my freshman year I was working on a lab report in my sister’s unfinished basement, and I read that “molecules have to collide in order to react.” I had taken two years of high school chemistry and half a year of college chemistry, and I never thought about how reactions happen. I’ve been hooked ever since that moment. I wanted to continue to do the research and learn more, but a big and delightful surprise is that teaching has proven to be equally rewarding.

UofL News: What motivated you to pursue the role of Faculty Senate chair?

Mueller: I decided I had two choices: I could either become a curmudgeon who just complains about decisions, or I could try to put myself in a position to make the decisions better.

UofL News: The Faculty Senate is tasked with many responsibilities. Which responsibility is most consistently appreciated by the faculty, considering its impact on faculty culture.

Mueller: We approve and give close scrutiny to new academic programs, and our recommendations are then forwarded to the Board of Trustees. While it is just a recommendation, we help change and clarify roles of those programs. We also frequently have the ability to get modifications in other matters and policy when we are a part of the process early. A major thing the senate chair does is provide the faculty with an explanation of why certain decisions are reached.

UofL News: What would you say are some of the unique benefits and opportunities of your position?

Mueller: The best thing is to be able to help guide policy development. Also, some of the invitations I receive have the great advantage of what I call “soft advocacy.” For instance, at a recent football game I could talk with some other trustees about a few things that are coming down the pike, and enjoy the informal socialization of getting to know each other better for the times we do have formal meetings.

UofL News: What are some of the unique challenges?��

Mueller: The senate doesn’t make laws like the U.S. Senate. We are a part of governance, but for us that is mostly consultation, questioning and persuading the administration by voicing concerns. There are viewpoints which are very different between the appointed trustees versus the representative trustees. Some things, for example, from the budgetary point of view, may seem innocuous to appointed trustees, but they don’t seem that way to faculty. However, we can make a difference through persuasion, and that requires homework, analysis and good argument.

Much of what my predecessors and I have done is essentially invisible, taking place in confidential conversations. Often, all I can say to others is, “it’s not as bad as it might have been,” or “yes, that position was voiced,” but I cannot go into much more detail. In all cases when I have been bound by confidentiality, I feel the restriction on me to speak publicly was very reasonable. I’ve discovered that the administration and trustees really do want the staff, the faculty and the students to be happy here, to be productive. It’s something that’s very genuine. Exactly where priorities fall does not always please faculty, staff or students, and viewpoints are so different certainly for professional administrators who have not been faculty. But it’s an unavoidable fact that when someone puts on a new hat, their view changes because their responsibilities are so different. Yet, I have found the trustees and the administration very ready to listen. The tension of different viewpoints coming together is one reason it is called “shared governance.”

UofL News: Tell us something you have come to appreciate about the faculty culture here at UofL.

Mueller: I have been really impressed by how many of my colleagues are willing and ready to serve, and do it in a very reasonable and productive manner.

UofL News: What do you personally hope to accomplish for the faculty at UofL through your position?

Mueller:

• I am hoping for a more structured and lasting method of consultation before major decisions are taken. In particular, I hope for the development of the annual budget to include a broader consultation of more senators.
• Regarding presidential searches, the Redbook specifies an advisory committee made up of an elected faculty member from each school, but “it shall be consulted” is all it says. So, amending and clarifying that language is a current work in progress.
• I aim to spread the culture of consultation to campus construction projects, giving more thought to the impact on pedestrians and traffic.

UofL News: What is an element of Faculty Senate that you wish people better understood?

Mueller: I wish people understood that the senate represents all the faculty, including junior faculty, part-time faculty and part-time lecturers. They can talk to their senators or to me if there is a problem, because we can be proactive. The summaries of our meetings are beneficial and informative for any faculty to read. While in my position, I would like as much input as possible.

To learn more about the Faculty Senate, visit .

“Honorary degrees salute special achievements and recognize outstanding service to the university and to the community,” said Gonzalez. “I am pleased and proud to confer this degree on such an extraordinary individual.”

Nolan’s leadership and efforts have resulted in $50 million to help support public education initiatives in Louisville to provide equitable access to quality educational opportunities for all students. For Nolan’s commitment to public education, in 2020, he received the Kelly Award from the Kentucky Department of ����ֱ��.

During his time as vice president of technology at GE Appliances, Nolan created FirstBuild, a global maker destination, in partnership with UofL. The partnership continues today, boasting 15 products on the shelf and 454 prototypes created.

Nolan is also a longtime member of UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s advisory board. Gonzalez noted that, thanks to Nolan, strong ties between UofL and GE Appliances have been built resulting in the development of scholarships and GE’s participation in student organizations such as Speed Spectrum, Society of Women Engineers, the Women’s Leadership Conference and the Engineering Living Learning Community.

Since 2004, GE Appliances has hosted 575 co-op students from the Speed School, which have completed 1,314 co-op rotations. In 2020, UofL honored GE Appliances as its “Outstanding Corporate Partner of the Year.”

“With Kevin’s leadership, GE Appliances invested in first-generation college students through support of the Speed School’s Brown-Forman Engineering Academy,” said Gonzalez. “Kevin has also invested personally, giving to the Mechanical Engineering Fund in the Speed School.”

In his remarks to the graduating class of 2022, Nolan emphasized the importance of how one’s unique gifts and differences can define character and create future opportunities. Nolan, an honors scholar graduate from the University of Connecticut, where he received a mechanical engineering degree, shared how struggles with dyslexia early in his studies hampered his interest in school. It was one of his professors at the University of Connecticut whose belief and support helped drive and influence Nolan’s success.

“It’s your differences that make you special,” said Nolan. “Leverage those differences to create opportunities for yourself. Don’t try to fit in by becoming something else or someone else. Be who you are and who you want to be. We need all of you with all you have to offer. After all, creativity thrives on the diversity of ideas. And that’s why I have been so committed to this university and why I have appreciated the many partnerships we have built with UofL.”

Nolan’s final word of advice to the 2022 graduates: Stay curious.

“Use your skills and innate curiosity to fuel your passion and discover what you love,” he said. “I have been so fortunate to have my career and passions intersect. It is truly something I wish on all of you. Keep learning. Keep growing. Keeping asking the question, ‘what if’.”

Hear Kevin Nolan’s complete remarks on the UofL YouTube channel .

UofL alumni are invited to a session Tuesday, May 10, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in rooms 116 and 117, Swain Student Activities Center, Belknap Campus.

The community at large is invited to a similar session Wednesday, May 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, Belknap Campus.

The public sessions will be both in person and on . If you cannot participate in the discussion, please use the on that site to provide your feedback.

Additional sessions will be held for students, faculty and staff. These sessions are not open to the public. Meetings also will be held with on-campus constituency groups, including the Council of Academic Officers; the executive committees of the Faculty and Staff senates; Student Government Association leadership; the Presidential Search Faculty Consultation Committee; and representatives from the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality, the Commission on the Status of Women and diversity leaders.

The search committee will use feedback from all these sessions to create a leadership statement/job description for the presidency and to inform decisions made during the search process.

Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 164.367 and 164.821 prohibit teaching and administrative staff to be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with the university for the sale of property, materials, supplies, equipment or services unless specifically approved by the Board of Trustees. Members of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee noted that the reconsideration of the statutes in these three instances is in the best interests of the university given the positive implications of the research.

Research takes flight with Michael Menze’s proposal to study red blood cell preservation for exploration spaceflight transfusion therapy. Menze, a professor and associate dean in the Department of Biology, submitted a pre-proposal for the research to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Establish Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. As part of the proposal, a subcontract to a small business, DesiCorp, is included. Menze is a co-founder, president and holds equity in DesiCorp. 

Back down on Earth, Claudio Maldonado looks for ways to treat myocardial infarction (heart attack), which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, impacts about 805,000 people in the United States every year. Maldonado, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Department of Surgery, has submitted a proposal to the National Institutes of Health to study the mechanisms of lipid therapy to treat heart attacks. As part of the proposal, a subcontract to a small business, EndoProtech, is included. Maldonado is co-founder, president and holds equity in the business. 

Sports performance gets specialized thanks to Ernest Rimer’s efforts to assists sports programs in the design and implementation of individualized training programs for athletes and sports. Rimer is director of sports science at UofL Health and holds equity in FYTT Inc., which markets the performance software that develops the training programs and provides monitoring tools to assess those programs. The UofL Athletic Association intends to procure a six-month trial license for evaluation purposes and, if successful, would potentially pursue a full license of the software. Since Rimer is an employee of UofL Health, this would not normally invoke the KRS restriction against an interest in the contract. However, Rimer’s spouse is currently a UofL employee and therefore the restriction comes into consideration.

Philosophy MA moves forward

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee approved a motion to create a Master of Arts in applied philosophy degree. As part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the degree will be a 33-credit-hour program. Since 2008, philosophy has anchored the Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies – health care ethics (IS-HCE). The program has produced 49 graduates. Having demonstrated viability, the HCE program will move under the rubric of applied philosophy.

According to Interim Provost Gerry Bradley, this move satisfies the original intent of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies umbrella and strengthens the Department of Philosophy. The program will be the only Master of Arts program in Kentucky dedicated to health care ethics.

“This degree program strengthens both the Department of Philosophy and the College of Arts & Sciences,” Bradley said. “Furthermore, it demonstrates how the oldest discipline in the humanities can reaffirm its relevance in today’s higher education landscape.”

Finances remain firm

Dan Durbin, executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer, gave a financial update for Fiscal Year 2022 through Jan. 31, 2022. Revenues and expenses were up compared to January 2021. So far, revenues for FY 2022 are $145,832,000 more than expenses with an increase in net position of $45,584,000 compared to January 2021.

According to Durbin, significant revenue fluctuations are attributed to student tuition and fee revenue increases, consistent rent and lease payments from UofL Health, an increase in grant revenue, increase in intercollegiate athletic revenue due to the release of COVID capacity restrictions at events, among others.

Editor’s note: the various committees of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees will present their full reports at the April 21, 2022, regular meeting of the trustees.

“Dr. Craddock has the experience, talents and, most importantly, the commitment to lead UofL’s efforts in forging effective community partnerships and promoting transformative experiences for our students, faculty and staff through engaged scholarship, outreach and service,” said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. “He will be a superb leader for our programs addressing community issues across the local, regional and national spectrum.”

In his new role, Craddock will build and expand linkages for the university across multiple efforts within the Office of Community Engagement. He will oversee UofL’s Signature Partnership, the university’s initiative to enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity for residents of west Louisville. By partnering with city and state governments, schools and other organizations, UofL coordinates and enhances existing programs and launches new ones to eliminate disparities that residents experience in social, education, health and economic development areas.

In addition, Craddock and the Community Relations team will oversee programs including Cards Come Together, the university’s week of service; the university’s TRIO, Upward Bound and Talent Search programs, which are federally funded efforts that identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; the student philanthropy program; and UofL’s Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium.

“The university reaches a broad scope of people and organizations through the Office of Community Engagement,” Craddock said. “Our work encompasses a wide variety of programs including working with college students who want to apply their learning to real-world situations; hosting students or groups who are interested in providing community service; and collaborating with faculty to address community issues.

“At its core, community engagement means meeting people at the place where they currently are, finding out where they want to go and applying the strength of the University of Louisville to help them get there.”

Craddock has served as the provost office’s chief of staff since 2021. From 2020 to 2021, he was chief of staff in UofL’s College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, where he has served as a faculty member since 2017. He also has faculty and administrative experience at the University of Alabama, where he earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

With other faculty at UofL, Craddock founded the��Black Male EDquity Network (B.M.E.N.), a grassroots effort focused on creating a pipeline of Black male educators in multiple disciplines. The effort links Black male students from across disciplines and universities so they have peers to bond with while completing their graduate degrees. Many times, there are few or even just one student of color enrolled in a department’s doctoral degree program.

“As many of these individuals are the ‘only ones,’ it is vital to have a support system to ensure their program of study completion,” Craddock said. “At its core, B.M.E.N. centers on building a linkage of brothers from all levels that can positively impact areas of job hiring, research and publications, teaching and general support that can only be found within the confines of this group.”��