Dear Colleagues,

As you may be aware, Katie Cardarelli has been named the new dean of the University of Louisville’s School of Public Health and Information Sciences, effective April 8, 2024. During her 10 years at UK, she served in multiple leadership roles in the College of Public Health, and most recently as the senior associate provost for academic affairs within the Office of the Provost. We are grateful for Dr. Cardarelli’s leadership, and I hope you will join me in thanking her for her exemplary service.

We will commence a search process for the associate provost for academic affairs. In accordance with Governing Regulation VIII, which states that I shall request a recommendation on matters of appointments from a committee, and as part of our efforts to enhance communication, transparency and inclusion, we are seeking nominations of faculty, staff and learners to serve on the search advisory committee. All recommendations and justifications are confidential.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the search advisory committee, please click here. Nominations are due Friday, Jan. 19, by 5 p.m. If you have any questions, please contact Shavonna Ross, director of operations (shav.ross@uky.edu).   

I look forward to your input as we work through the search process. Thank you for all that you do.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to wish you a happy new year.

As we prepare for the spring 2024 semester, I hope that you, too, are feeling a sense of excitement and fulfillment. Together, we are poised to continue advancing Kentucky. 

We will continue to share important updates with you in the Faculty Focus newsletters. This week, we want to highlight what we have available related to artificial intelligence (AI). As communicated last fall, President Capilouto charged the Office of the Provost with establishing a committee to define and develop recommendations for responsible use of generative AI at UK. This led to the creation of UK ADVANCE (Advancing Data utilization for Value in Academics for National and Campus-wide Excellence). 

Nearly 30 faculty, staff and students from across our campus contributed to the transdisciplinary ADVANCE Team, meeting throughout the fall semester to provide ongoing guidance to our community. 

This team recommended four core principles to frame the guidance for course policies:

• People-centered: Policies are student- and instructor-centered.
• Adaptability: Policies adapt to the needs and circumstances of the course.
• Effectiveness: Policies demonstrate characteristics of effective course policy.
• Awareness: Policies promote awareness and understanding of generative AI.

The team created, with input, guidelines for instructors and researchers, and they are working to create guidelines for healthcare as well. A two-day national symposium was also held on campus last year, with presentations by many of our leaders. In addition, guest speakers with expertise provided a national perspective on AI. As the field continues to grow, the team will continue to meet so we can optimize the beneficial uses of AI while understanding important cautions.

You can submit questions for the team to consider via email.

Of course, we will continue to communicate with you regarding AI-policies and guidance. We will also continue to highlight the various resources and services available in future Faculty Focus weekly newsletters.

Thank you, as always, for everything you do to advance our mission. Welcome back. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,    

During this special time of the year, I am honored to thank you for your diligent and meaningful work. Together, we are united in an important calling: to do more and be more, than ever before, at the University of Kentucky. 

I encourage you to take a moment and consider what we have accomplished together this year.

We are serving more students than at any other time in our institution’s history.

We are providing healing and hope to more patients across our Commonwealth; more people than ever before can feel a sense of peace, knowing that they need not leave Kentucky for the highest quality care.

We continue to make important progress in being a community in which everyone feels a sense of belonging, acceptance and purpose.

We are steadfastly focused on discovery to find answers to the most stubborn and vexing questions.

We remain committed to improving the well-being of our people and those communities we serve.

Because of you, we are doing more. We are being more. Each day, your work moves forward our sacred promise. Because of you, we are advancing Kentucky.

In that spirit, I hope you find time for rest and rejuvenation during this holiday season.

Thank you for the role you play in doing and being more for the state we serve.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.
Provost

Dear Colleagues, 

I wanted to highlight that our community will host a special celebration — one that embodies our mission as Kentucky’s institution. The December 2023 Commencement ceremonies will be held on Friday, December 15, at Rupp Arena at the Central Bank Center.   

Most importantly, I want to thank you — our distinguished faculty — for your contribution to this important time of the year and this significant milestone in the lives of our graduates. I’m grateful for the impact you have made upon each one of them. 

Because of you, in recent years, more students than ever before have been crossing that stage.  

UK has achieved a record 70% six-year graduation rate, placing our university among the top 20% of all 4-year public institutions, based on the most recently available data.  

I’m grateful to you for the impact these transformative data represent.  

Your passion and leadership have propelled our students to be ready for lives of meaning and purpose.  

You are fulfilling our mission to advance Kentucky.  

As a reminder, we invite all faculty members to join us at the Commencement ceremonies. You can find more information about faculty participation at https://commencement.uky.edu/faculty.  

Commencement is a celebration of our student’s achievements, but also of the mentorship and guidance you have provided.  

Thank you for everything you have done to help our students succeed.  

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.   

Provost  

Dear Colleagues,  

Later this week, I will have the honor of speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 2023 Women’s Executive Leadership (WELD) program.  

This program develops a new generation of leaders in at the University of Kentucky who complete an eight-month-long curriculum covering topics that include leadership attributes, budgeting, strategic planning, legal issues and regulations and crisis management.  

At the ceremony, I will congratulate them for their achievement and the impact their participation will have, both on the overall success of WELD and on their own career trajectories as they continue in their respective fields across campus.  

I’m grateful for the opportunity to recognize and express my gratitude to this remarkable class of colleagues.  

The 2023 graduates hail from across our enterprise. Among them are individuals who focus each day on helping students succeed, teach in disciplines ranging from Fine Arts to Engineering, from Health Sciences to Arts and Sciences and from Education to Design.  

There are graduates who tell the stories of our faculty, staff, students, and programs, make our campus operations possible, uplift communities through Cooperative Extension, provide healing and hope to patients and train future physicians  

Our shared mission — to advance Kentucky — is remarkable in scope, and it is our promise to the commonwealth. These WELD graduates work every day to make this mission possible. 

This program is another example of our commitment — as outlined in our strategic plan, UK-PURPOSE — to taking care of our people. It’s an investment in the incredible talent that exists across our campus. Our people make our mission possible.  

As a reminder, applications for the 2024 cohort are open now. 

Thank you for everything you do. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.   

Provost  

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you had a peaceful and rejuvenating Thanksgiving holiday. As I reflect on all we have accomplished this semester, I am reminded of a phrase we hear often on our campus and in our community: The University of Kentucky is a promise.

It is a promise to provide transformational education, to conduct groundbreaking research, to engage in service that uplifts communities, and to offer healing and hope. Your efforts make that promise possible.  

In that spirit, as we approach the end of the semester, I would like to highlight resources that support the crucial work you conduct each day. Particularly at this time of the year, I encourage you to consider how these resources may benefit you and your colleagues, now or in the future.

Resources for Faculty:

The Office of Faculty Advancement (OFA)

• As you know we are working on enhancing all we do for faculty.  The mission of the OFA is to provide support and resources for the promotion and tenure programs and process; offer faculty development opportunities; foster recognition of faculty achievements in both scholarship and teaching; partner with units to recruit, retain and support a diverse faculty; and promote leadership development of faculty into academic positions. OFA also offers an online list of faculty resources available here: https://ofa.uky.edu/faculty-handbook/faculty-handbook-part-vii

The Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT)

• We are also enhancing our focus on the needs of instructors, staff and administrators involved in teaching.  In that regard, the faculty and staff at CELT work collaboratively with instructors, staff, and administrators at UK to support engaging, inclusive, and innovative learning environments in which all students and instructors have the opportunity to succeed. They work with individuals, groups/cohorts, departments, colleges, administrative offices, and University-wide initiatives to build on our collective wisdom and realize new possibilities for teaching and learning.  https://celt.uky.edu/

Work Life and Well-Being

• With a focus on your well-being, the University of Kentucky Human Resources provides faculty with access to well-being expertise, along with dedicated, ongoing efforts to help employees thrive. Work-life and well-being tools and programs offer diverse opportunities for connection and growth, both personally and professionally. More information is available here: https://hr.uky.edu/work-life-and-well-being

Additionally, below are resources that may be useful to you as you help our students navigate the close of another semester.

Resources to Share With Your Students

• Programming that supports our students can be found within our Office of Student Success. This unit is comprised of more than four hundred professional staff and faculty across more than two dozen units that engage students from the time of early college outreach to graduation and beyond. Please encourage students to explore these programs: https://studentsuccess.uky.edu/student-success-units-and-programs

Thank you for everything you do.

Robert S. DiPaola, MD  

Provost  

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Danelle Stevens-Watkins as the acting dean of the College of Education, effective January 1, 2024.

Dr. Stevens-Watkins –– a distinguished professor in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology, and UK’s associate vice president for research in equity –– has continually showcased her unwavering dedication and outstanding leadership within our community.

With a robust background in both academic and clinical settings, Dr. Stevens-Watkins embodies a dynamic blend of scholarship and practical experience, enriching our educational landscape with invaluable insights.

I would like to thank Dr. Stevens-Watkins for her leadership while serving the college as acting dean. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Stevens-Watkins on her continued appointment. I am confident that her visionary leadership and steadfast commitment will continue to advance the College of Education and the University of Kentucky.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.
Provost 

Dear Colleagues, 

As we enter the season of gratitude, I want to express my deep and enduring appreciation for what you do. Through your innovation and intellect, passion and professionalism, we are fulfilling our mission to educate, research, serve and heal. 

I am fortunate for the opportunity to witness the incredible work happening throughout our institution. 

This week, we highlight a new mechanism for recognizing and supporting faculty efforts across our campus. 

We recently announced eight transformative projects that were awarded funding through the inaugural IMPACT initiative. This initiative, announced in February of this year, is an internal funding program designed to support collaboration across UK’s colleges.

The goal is to champion the hard work occurring throughout the campus, inspire greater ingenuity across the enterprise and help community members support each other, especially with a focus on educational efforts that will create new opportunities for students. Our office created this initiative to help support new opportunities for creative growth and innovation. We awarded eight programs this past year and will distribute an announcement soon for a second round of applications. The eight projects include the following colleges: College of Arts and Sciences; Gatton College of Business and Economics; College of Dentistry; College of Design; College of Education; Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering; College of Fine Arts; College of Pharmacy; and UK Libraries.  

I invite you to read more about these eight projects, which demonstrate the depth and breadth of talent at the University of Kentucky.  

Thank you for all that you do. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.  

Provost 

Dear Colleagues,

Colleges and universities across the country are joining the University of Kentucky in celebration of National First-Generation Week, hosted by our Office for Student Success.

At UK, around 25% of students are first-generation students, meaning that their parents did not complete a four-year college or university degree. The University of Kentucky’s first-generation enrollment trajectory has increased degree and certificate production from about 1,200 in 2017-18 to almost 1,900 in 2022-23.

The transition from high school to college can present unique challenges to this population of students. UK’s Office for Student Success and colleges do an incredible job of ensuring our students have access to this guidance and encouragement.

During the trajectory of my educational journey and career, I have realized the importance of building a network of support. As faculty members, you play an integral role in supporting, mentoring and providing these students with opportunities that will elevate their passions and their purpose.

I want to thank you for all that you provide to our students. The support we offer makes a difference not only in their lives, but in the lives of their families and the communities they call home.

As the first in my family to graduate from college, this is an especially meaningful pursuit. You can read more about my journey to and through higher education here.

In the article, I was asked what advice I would offer to first-generation students:

1. Build your support structure of family, friends and mentors.
2. Find and follow your passion for a greater purpose.
3. Read a lot.
4. Stay persistent.

I would especially call your attention to the importance of mentors, and I know that you do this well. Faculty mentorship is very important and often helps guide our students in their career plans and success. Keep in mind how important this support and guidance are to first generation as well as to all of our students. You support, model and guide.

Thank you for all you do to help us support our students as we work together to advance Kentucky.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.  

Provost 

Dear colleagues, 

A central principle of our strategic plan, UK-PURPOSE, is taking care of our people. After all, you make possible UK’s mission of education, research, service and care.   

To support your work, I have elevated the role of the Office of Faculty Advancement (OFA) to better serve faculty at all career stages. OFA’s mission is to provide support and resources for the promotion and tenure programs and process, offer faculty development opportunities, foster recognition of faculty achievements in both scholarship and teaching, partner with units to recruit, retain and support a diverse faculty and promote leadership development of faculty into academic positions. 

Associate Provost for Faculty Advancement Lisa Tannock recently announced an opportunity for a colleague to serve as Assistant Provost for Faculty Professional Development. This position exists to expand this support by developing and overseeing workshops and strategies to increase faculty belonging, engagement and retention — essential to taking care of our people. This individual will serve as a resource for faculty members in need support, guidance or advice. 

Dr. Tannock is also leading efforts to plan innovative, relevant programming for spring 2024 to broaden the support this office offers to faculty across campus. For example, the office is in the planning stages of a continuation of new faculty orientation to follow up with our new colleagues as they begin a new semester.

As I noted in last week’s Faculty Focus, I am committed to visiting each college to hear from you.  I have asked Dr. Tannock to also attend the town halls to hear firsthand how you want to see the service of OFA, to best help.  We will continue to highlight these opportunities and other important initiatives in this space as they are implemented.  We will also continue efforts such as these faculty focus newsletters and town halls, to enhance communication and gain valuable input to continue to shape the Provost Office, to best serve. 

Thank you for all you do to help in our mission to advance Kentucky.   

Robert S. DiPaola, MD  

Provost