Guided by its namesake’s commitment to public service, UofL’s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law is constantly seeking opportunities to support, grow and engage with the local community.
Having served for years as the alma mater for many of the lawyers based in Jefferson and the surrounding counties, the law school makes its mission to serve the broader Louisville community while also helping law students obtain the practical legal experience they need under the guidance and supervision of experts in the field.
In pursuit of these goals, the Brandeis School of Law built three robust law clinics in the past 15 years. The Ackerson Law Clinic, Entrepreneurship Clinic and Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic have become integral parts of the school in the tradition of Brandeis, the Louisville native and former U.S. Supreme Court associate justice for whom the school is named.
The three clinics operate throughout the academic year and cater to community residents who need support in areas such as housing and family law, business startup and estate planning, but who do not have the means to hire private law firms.
Expanding help across the community – Ackerson Law Clinic
Founded in 2009, the Robert and Sue Ellen Ackerson Law Clinic is the longest running of the law school’s clinics, and has helped more than 1,400 domestic violence victims to date. It was created to work with emergency protective order hearings, divorce actions and housing cases, with many clients referred from the Legal Aid Society of Louisville. In its 14 years, it has expanded to include a mediation clinic. Most recently, a new translation pilot program has been pioneered with UofL’s classical and modern languages department to serve even more members of the community.
Clinic Director Heend Sheth has been with the Ackerson Clinic since 2018, serving as interim director for two years before her recent appointment. She sees the value to local law firms in hiring students who served in the clinic.
“Each student goes through intense training and is in the courtroom as soon as possible. They are first-chair on their cases in a matter of three or four weeks. I can’t describe how helpful this experience is when you are a new lawyer; we are sending students into the workforce having had real trial experience. Most of our students practice between 10 and 15 cases per semester,” Sheth said. “It’s amazing.”
The Ackerson Clinic’s work gives vital support to people of all backgrounds in the local community; thus, the Interpretation and Translation Pilot program was set in motion this year. Third-year law student Jason Raff conceived the program to help the clinic include potential clients for whom English is a second language, while also supporting the development of language students.
Having previously worked with the Kentucky courts system as an interpreter, Raff’s experience came to mind when he came to Brandeis School of Law. “I felt the Ackerson Clinic had possible language needs that were going unmet,” Raff said. “When I had more contact with the clinic, the idea began to crystalize and take shape.”
Given its success in the first year, Sheth can see this project expanding. “I see a lot of opportunity for growth here, including adding the mediation clinic to the mix,” she said.
Helping startups with their start – Entrepreneurship Clinic
The Entrepreneurship Clinic was founded in 2012 to provide law students with experiential learning opportunities by offering legal support to the Entrepreneurship MBA program at UofL’s College of Business. Here, MBA students are the clients, and representing them takes many forms. Law students at the Entrepreneurship Clinic help frame articles of organization, operating agreements, independent contractor agreements and option agreements for technology while offering opinions of counsel. The clinic runs as a corporate department of a law firm might, with weekly firm meetings covering agreements, accounting, intellectual property, ethics, Food and Drug Administration approval and other topics.
Abi McFarland, a third-year law student, participated in the Entrepreneurship Clinic’s cohort this year to expand her knowledge of the field. “The Entrepreneurship Clinic was a great way to learn practical skills and network with experts in the community,” she said.
With the supervision of clinic directors Will Metcalf and Carlos Hernandez Ocampo, McFarland and her fellow students gained real-world experience. “We were able to apply principles from our doctrinal classes to client interactions with University of Louisville students,” McFarland said. She and her fellow students also receive support from other members of the law faculty and several local firms. Students in this clinic also meet with MBA professors to develop an understanding of their student clients’ ideation process.
McFarland is one of many who benefit from the opportunity to engage with the everyday problems they will encounter in the business field after graduation. She and eight other students worked with the Entrepreneurship Clinic in the past semester, totaling 78 students who have benefited from the clinic in the past five academic years.
Respecting elders with legal aid – Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic
The law school recently developed the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic in conjunction with the UofL Trager Institute. Designed to meet two important needs, it supports law students through real-life interactions and experiences in the field of estate planning and provides valuable legal advice to those with limited access to resources and legal representation.
The Elder Law Clinic, hosted at the Trager Institute, opened its doors in 2021. The original concept was brought to fruition by Clinic Director Misty Vantrease, an experienced and well-regarded local elder law attorney. Under her supervision, the clinic successfully served 22 clients in just its first year and provided client-facing experiential training to 19 students.
Emily Monarch, co-director of the Elder Law Clinic, is enthusiastic about its mission. “The clinic provides each client with important end-of-life documents such as a durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, living will and last will and testament,” Monarch said. “Many clients would not otherwise have access to this service.”
Sydney Dazzo, a third-year law student, demonstrated the impact the clinic has on both the community and the students.
“In talking and working with the clients, it was clear that our efforts were making an impact in their lives as well. The clients I worked with were so appreciative to be getting their estate planning documents in order, Dazzo said. “Being able to help actual clients with their estate planning needs while still in school was a great feeling and has made me even more excited for my future legal career.”
Vantrease is ambitious about the clinic’s future. “As the clinic prepares to take on more clients, we have a dream of one day being a full-time, five days-a-week law clinic. With the support of the community and the University of Louisville, the little clinic that exists today is just the beginning,” she said.
The critical services that these clinics provide are immeasurable and grow with each year. As these programs continue to grow, so do their legacy, true to the school’s namesake and his commitment to public service.
The STEM+ Hub in the Miller Information Technology Center hosts K-12 students on UofL’s campus, inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM and health care fields. UofL photo.
A new space dedicated to hosting K-12 students for summer camps, class field trips and after-school activities is now open at the University of Louisville. The STEM+ Hub, designed and operated by the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, is located on UofL’s Belknap Campus in the Miller Information Technology Center.
The STEM+ Hub is equipped to facilitate a variety of K-12 student enrichment opportunities, as well as activities such as hackathons, junk bot racing, rocket building, VEX and First Robotics competitions, mentoring, learner workshops and teacher workshops. The suite consists of a large makerspace with 12 3D printers, instructional space, a conference room and two offices.
“This space, which already has hosted summer camps and after-school enrichment activities for hundreds of local students, is dedicated to welcoming those who aspire to be the next generation of engineers, computer scientists and technicians. It also provides UofL students and prospective students with access to advising, makerspace technology and other resources to help them pursue their dreams,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel.
This engagement is critical to increasing the pipeline of students interested in working in STEM and health care disciplines in engineering and other academic areas and will help recruit undergraduate students to the STEM+H degree programs at UofL.
“The STEM+ Hub is something we are very excited about at Speed School. Though it is an outgrowth of our outreach activities, we want the UofL community to know that this is not a “Speed School space” but one that is available to the entire UofL community,” said Emmanuel Collins, dean of engineering. “It is our experience that the type of activities that STEM+ Hub hosts can have a lasting impact on the young people who participate. We look forward to seeing and hearing about the life transformations this space helps facilitate.”
Through outreach initiatives such as those taking place in the STEM+ Hub, Speed School exposes and engages students in various areas of engineering careers and provides them with a boost in their preparation for these STEM careers.
Dr. Jackson Williams (left), division chief of pediatric global health and Humana Endowed Chair in International Pediatrics at the University of Louisville, works with colleagues in Tamale, Ghana, as part of the AMPATH partnership.
The University of Louisville recently joined the AMPATH Consortium of academic health centers around the world with a focus on enhancing pediatric care in the AMPATH Ghana partnership.
“Our University of Louisville Pediatric Global Health team has been working with partners in Tamale, Ghana, for the last 14 years,” said Jackson Williams, MD, FAAP, DTM&H, division chief of pediatric global health and Humana Endowed Chair in International Pediatrics. “When we learned that AMPATH would also begin working at the same hospital and medical school in Northern Ghana, our group was thrilled at the idea of partnering with a consortium which has such a strong track record of effective global health collaboration.”
AMPATH is the Academic Model Providing Access to Health Care. UofL joins 14 other universities and medical schools around the world working in partnership with public sector hospitals and medical schools in Ghana, Kenya, Mexico and Nepal.
As part of the AMPATH Ghana partnership, UofL will embrace the AMPATH philosophy to “Lead with Care” by continuing to provide pediatric clinical care that supports research and education in child health. This will include augmenting sub-specialty care in pediatrics, hosting two-way exchange of learners, initiating research grants focused on child health and broadening UofL’s institutional support with partners in Tamale, Ghana.
“The AMPATH Consortium welcomes the University of Louisville and we look forward to working together to both enhance their existing work in Ghana while learning from their expertise in international pediatrics to grow all of the AMPATH partnerships,” said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, executive director of the AMPATH Consortium.
“We are very excited to work with our colleagues at University of Louisville to grow pediatric medicine education, research and care in Tamale, Ghana,” said Professor Stephen Tabiri, MD, PhD, FGCS, FACS, FWACS, MEd (Adm.) dean of UDS-SoM. “We are looking forward to a very fruitful partnership.”
Dr. Adam Atiku, CEO of Tamale Teaching Hospital added, “We are looking forward to further collaborating with our colleagues from the University of Louisville, with whom we have had over a decade-long partnership, as they join the AMPATH Consortium to continue in our collective quest to improve pediatric and child healthcare to clients within northern Ghana and beyond. We are very excited to see what we can achieve together for children in northern Ghana.”
The AMPATH Ghana partnership is based on a collaborative model that has helped to build a sustainable healthcare system over the past three decades in western Kenya.
“AMPATH Ghana’s long-term partnership model presents a unique opportunity for University of Louisville faculty and trainees. We look forward to building relationships with our counterparts to strengthen pediatric care delivery in Tamale and northern Ghana,” Rajesh Vedanthan, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Section for Global Health at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity and associate professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone.
In April, UofL faculty and residents traveled to Ghana and stayed in the AMPATH Ghana House with full-time faculty from NYU Grossman School of Medicine while working and training alongside Ghanaian faculty and residents.
“That experience further solidified our strong desire to be a part of the AMPATH Consortium. Seeing first-hand the projects which have already been started, how well they are partnered with our colleagues in Ghana, and how smoothly they managed the logistics in Ghana sealed the deal for our plans to join AMPATH,” said Williams.
The AMPATH Consortium is led by Indiana University and includes Brown University, Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, Duke University, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Linköping University (Sweden), Mount Sinai, NYU Langone Health, Purdue University, Stanford University Center for Innovation in Global Health, University of Alberta, University of California San Francisco, University of Toronto and the University of Virginia.
The division of pediatric global health at UofL was established as the international pediatrics division by George Rodgers, MD, more than 25 years ago with a partnership in Romania and other eastern European countries. The Humana Foundation generously provided funding for the division’s creation. Faculty in the division include Jackson Williams, MD; Nicole Bichir, MD; Sheridan Langford, MD; Bethany Hodge, MD, MPH (completed a rotation in AMPATH’s Kenya partnership in 2009); Dan Stewart, MD; Dan Blatt, MD; Mirzada Kurbasic, MD; and Kelly Frazier, MD. The division also has a partnership in Ecuador.
“UofL is committed to its role as an engaged institution passionate about partnering and collaborating with external constituencies and communities. This partnership between the university’s Trager Institute and its partners is a win-win for both UofL and the community,” said Douglas Craddock Jr., UofL’s vice president for community engagement. “The university benefits from engaged scholarship, and our elderly citizens receive necessary services that help them live their best lives.”
In 2015, the Trager Institute led efforts to support Louisville’s participation in the Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities by AARP and the World Health Organization (WHO), resulting in Louisville becoming the 120th U.S. Age-Friendly city.
With 40 percent of Louisville’s population projected to be 60 years or older by 2050, creating an environment where seniors could age well in place was essential to promoting well-being and ensuring the city continues to thrive. The Trager Institute guided the creation of a strategic plan using a needs assessment and participatory community engagement approaches, including listening sessions, concept mapping methods and presentations to the public.
“The Trager Institute started on this journey in 2015 to engage community partners in the vision of Age-Friendly Louisville. Community-based organizations, local government and residents across Louisville have worked tirelessly on the strategic plan to realize the dream of becoming age-friendly for all regardless of one’s age or abilities. It has been such an honor to engage in this collaborative leadership,” said Anna Faul, executive director of the Trager Institute.
The Trager Institute partnered with Metro Louisville, AARP and KIPDA to successfully implement Age-Friendly Louisville’s long-term plan to address the needs of the aging population and promote inclusive and accessible communities for people of all ages and abilities.
The internal nominating process for the award was coordinated by UofL’s Office of Community Engagement, which provides coaching and mentoring to faculty prior to final submission. UofL has been recognized for all five award nominations submitted in the past. These awards help to enhance UofL’s national profile in community-engaged scholarship.
APLU also announced that four of its member universities have been selected as regional winners of the 2023 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award. North Carolina State University, The Ohio State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Texas A&M University will compete for the national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award, which will be announced at the 2023 APLU Annual Meeting in November.
Since 2007, APLU and the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, have partnered to honor the engagement scholarship and partnerships of four-year public universities. The award recognizes programs that demonstrate how colleges and universities have redesigned their learning, discovery, and engagement missions to deepen their partnerships and achieve broader impacts in their communities. The national award is named for C. Peter Magrath, APLU president from 1992 to 2005.
“Congratulations to the regional winners of the Kellogg Community Engagement Scholarship Awards and exemplary projects,” said APLU President Mark Becker. “Community engagement is a critical part of public universities’ mission and we’re pleased to highlight the work of institutions that are engaging communities to solve challenges. From the underserved areas of their communities and states to overlooked regions of the world, public research universities are engaging communities to solve the most pressing problems they face.”
A team of community engagement professionals from public research universities judged this round of the award. A second team will pick the national winner following presentations at the 2023 National Engagement Scholarship Conference.
14 Class of 2023 Central High School graduates have been accepted and plan to pursue engineering degrees at UofL
For the past four years, seniors in Central High School’s STEM magnet program have been learning how to design, build and program robots as part of their schooling. They’ve also taken dual credit classes and gotten a taste of college life from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville.
Now, 14 Central students have been accepted and plan to pursue engineering degrees at UofL.
“It’s taken some time over the past seven years but now we’re seeing the relationship starting to pay off,” said Chris Brown, Central STEM teacher.
“They (Speed School) had a lot of summer programs on campus that we participated in to get a feel for the labs that they have,” said Anastasia Bricest, one of the graduating seniors who plans to attend UofL next year.
“Opening the door to LARRI (Louisville Autonomous Robotics Research Institute) was a pretty big thing they did for us,” said Logan Lewis, who is going to the Speed School to study electrical engineering.
Brown says one of the goals of the magnet program is to get more people of color, particularly women of color, interested in engineering and STEM fields. He says Central’s relationship with students and faculty at the Speed School has been encouraging to his high schoolers, who see college students who look like them, being successful.
“These are sharp kids,” Brown said. “And remember, these are pandemic students so they’ve had to be resilient and do a lot of learning on their own, just like they will have to do in college.”
UofL is reaping benefits as well.
“The Speed School of Engineering greatly values the relationship we have with Central High School,” said Emmanuel Collins, dean of engineering. “They do a great job of preparing a diverse set of students for STEM disciplines and we’re excited that many of them are matriculating at the Speed School of Engineering.”
Back in the late 1990s, UPS’s Louisville air hub, known today as Worldport, was wrestling with a significant problem. Needing employees round-theclock, the company was finding it difficult to recruit and retain workers for its overnight shifts. As it planned a much-needed expansion, the company knew the problem would only grow.
The solution? Metropolitan College – a unique public-private partnership that dramatically increased tenure among workers during the wee hours each night and provided more than 22,000 students over the past quarter-century the opportunity to earn a college degree debt-free.
Metro College allows students at the University of Louisville or Jefferson Community and Technical College to work third shift at Worldport at Muhammad Ali International Airport. In return, they earn a weekly paycheck and payment of their tuition, academic bonuses and fee payment assistance. The program receives state support to fund up to 50% of tuition and fees. The company also provides academic bonuses that include semester and graduation bonuses.
The program launched in the fall semester of 1998 as a partnership among UofL, JCTC, UPS, Louisville Metro Government and the commonwealth of Kentucky. As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, it has proved to be a resounding success in providing access to education and bolstering the local workforce.
Metro College Counselor Patrick McKinney works with a student.
“Metropolitan College is one of those initiatives that seemingly has no downside,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “Prior to my academic career, I spent 20 years in industry, so I see the value of Metro College across the board. In making this program possible, the state of Kentucky, UPS, JCTC and UofL have created a national model of what a combined education-workforce-economic development initiative can and should be.”
High on the list of pride points is that students graduate 100% debt-free. They also have the benefit of the Metro College Career and Academic Planning Program that helps students navigate the higher education experience and find careers after graduation.
“In addition to paying for college, Metro College provides a student with a livelihood while they are in college,” said Ty Handy, JCTC president. “That is crucial for many students who must support themselves either fully or partially while they are in school. And the added value of the career and academic guidance they receive cannot be underestimated.”
Another major result of the program involves third-shift worker tenure. Prior to the program’s launch, the average tenure of a third-shift worker was eight weeks. As of fall 2022, tenure increased to three years.
“For UPS, the success of Metro College has been integral to our ability to deliver what matters to our customers around the world,” said UPS President Jim Joseph. “In addition to the steady source of talent to help us run our Worldport operation, the program provides student-workers the opportunity to pursue their dreams debt-free, while also receiving competitive pay, benefits and work-life experience and guidance. Our community benefits by growing and enhancing the talent pool within the commonwealth. The program really is a win-win-win for all involved.”
Thalia Almenares
Thalia Almenares came to Louisville in 2016 from Cuba and began work at UPS in 2017. Through Metro College she started taking classes at JCTC before transferring to UofL where she is poised to graduate in May as a dental hygienist.
“UPS was the best bet for my dreams,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when they told (me) they were going to pay my tuition 100% in full. But also, with the help of the UPS team, I was able to overcome the language barrier and have a job to support my family while earning a great education. The program also provides you with a great work-life balance. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to be a student and work at the same time, but UPS opens that door.”
Another program benefit is the chance to learn leadership skills and to rise in the ranks while still enrolled in college. Just ask Jeff Wafford ’03 and Donovan Neal ’19.
“Coming out of high school, I knew I couldn’t pay for college. I was actually planning to go into the military until a friend of mine told me about UPS two months before the semester started,” Neal said. “I began in August 2012 in the UPS hub as a package handler and eventually got a role as a supervisor in finance and accounting.” He graduated from UofL with a degree in finance and today works in human resources for UPS.
Likewise, Wafford progressed through the ranks of the multinational shipping company. He enrolled in Metro College more than two decades ago and started as a package handler. “I then became a training and development supervisor, training new hires, and I’ve been lucky enough to advance through customer relations and business development.”
Wafford, now director of public affairs in government affairs, continues to tout Metro College. “Today, I not only have the chance to talk about it to our leaders here locally and throughout Kentucky but also to the states I cover, in the Virginias and the Carolinas. They all want to know, ‘What can we do in our states to have a program like this?’ ”
Almenares and Neal talk up the program as well.
“I tell people that if UPS is my big family, then Metro College would be my mother,” Almenares said. “I say this because my mother makes sure that I have food, that I feel supported and loved, that I have everything I need. Well, Metro College provides me everything regarding school needs.”
Donovan Neal
“I was a supervisor in finance and accounting, but I knew my impact could be greater in an HR role because I wanted to actually talk to these students,” Neal said. “I tell them, all you have to do is work third shift and maintain a C (average) or better, versus having to pay for your tuition.”
The rigors of overnight work – Metro College students work 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. about 15 hours per week – coupled with college enrollment can be daunting, but Metro College staff at UofL and JCTC help students handle it. The staff members advise entering students to enroll as a parttime student to get adjusted to the new routine. And they provide advice on life skills that students may need.
“I am extremely grateful to all the Metro College staff because the wraparound services they provide are vital,” Wafford said. “I barely knew how to open a checking account when I started, so to have somebody explain things like this to me was so important. These are the things that are so vital to these students that make the program a success.”
As for handling the late hours that the job requires, Wafford notes that working overnight may not be as much of a problem as might be imagined.
“Twenty-three years ago, my then-college roommate and I were up at 3 o’clock in the morning, as college students sometimes are, and we saw this ad for Metro College,” he said. “We said, ‘You know what? We should do this. We’re up all night anyway. We have these loans we’re getting ready to take out, and we need some money.’ So the next day, we applied.
“I’ve talked about Metro College for 23 years and hopefully (because of) my son, I’ll get to talk about it for the next 23 years,” Wafford said “Let’s keep this program going, for the students, for the future of the commonwealth.”
For more information about Metro College visit metro-college.com
Bullitt County Public School students in the Guaranteed Entrance to Engineering School (G.E.E.S.) program, a partnership with GE Appliances, Bullitt County Public Schools and UofL J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
The University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering has partnered with GE Appliances, a Haier company (GEA) and Bullitt County Public Schools to support the next generation of engineering professionals through the Guaranteed Entrance to Engineering School (G.E.E.S.) program. The partnership was announced at the closing event of the GE Appliances Bullitt County Engineering Exploration Program.
Over the past school year, 22 teams of Bullitt County Public School students designed tiny homes for a local nonprofit organization geared to enable independent, yet sustainable living. All project designs are authentic to the students and focus on disability inclusion, energy sustainability and food independence to facilitate independent living for all people.
As part of the year-long project, carpentry and electrical trade students designed and built the interior of the house and the solar array that will power the home efficiently. The students are continuously working on the project’s future phases as part of earning their school certifications by learning core trade skills – wiring the home, building interior structure, installing cabinetry and potential deck additions.
“GEA’s engineering and development teams have been working diligently with senior capstone students from Bullitt East and Bullitt Central high schools to serve as mentors throughout the school year,” said Michael Ekbundit, director of engineering programs for GE Appliances. “This project and program are so special to me and the students in its impact, we’re changing these kids’ lives and opening doors of opportunity that most of us didn’t have at their age.”
Ekbundit has led the program on behalf of GE Appliances for multiple years and is excited to see the next phase of the partnership launch offering students from Bullitt County Public Schools guaranteed entrance to UofL’s Speed School.
The J.B. School of Engineering is devoted to ushering talent into the school. A large part of their role as an engineering college is to be instrumental in the pipeline of students from the K-12 grades to college STEM disciplines that will lead in STEM positions in the industry. The G.E.E.S. program will provide students with experiences within the engineering field during high school. Through successful completion of the G.E.E.S. program, students are guaranteed admission into the University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
“The Speed School of Engineering greatly values the relationship we have with GE Appliances,” said Emmanuel Collins, dean of engineering. “And we are excited to have the G.E.E.S. program graduates as students at the Speed School of Engineering.”
“Our business is laser focused on developing the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals,” said Katina Whitlock, senior manager of community engagement for GE Appliances. “Our partnerships with local school systems, colleges, universities and skilled-trade centers are investments in the manufacturing industry as a whole with the ability to positively impact people in our region for generations to come.”
GE Appliances also supports Jefferson County Public Schools, Shelby County Public Schools, University of Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technology College and area nonprofit organizations to expose, inspire and support students entering academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, math and manufacturing through scholarships, corporate grants and employee volunteerism, mentoring and tutoring.
Candice Hardin, Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) coach at JCPS, hands a rose to LTR graduate Donald Morehead at the graduation celebration on May 18 (photo courtesy JCPS)
More than 30 new University of Louisville-trained teachers will be assigned to high-needs schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) system after completing a unique, one-year training program.
The teachers received their master’s degrees this month from UofL after completing the Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) program, which is designed to increase the pool of diverse, highly skilled teachers in low-performing urban schools.
The program, the first of its kind in Kentucky, offers college graduates who did not major in education the opportunity to obtain a master’s degree and teaching certification in one year. In exchange, they commit to teach in a high-needs JCPS school.
“UofL is deeply grateful for our partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools to implement a teacher residency program that recruits, retains and elevates future educators,” said Amy Lingo, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
The 2023-24 LTR program begins in June, with a class of up to 50 residents. During the residency year, participants spend four days a week in the classroom alongside JCPS master teachers. During the summer and on Fridays, the residents will attend classes at UofL, and complete coursework co-designed by JCPS and the university. Participants will earn $30,000 plus benefits from JCPS during their residency then commit to work for five years in an Accelerated Improvement School (AIS) within JCPS.
Class Act Credit Union committed up to $300,000 for scholarships and programming for the first three years of LTR and has committed to the same funding for another three years.
Individuals interested in applying for the LTR program should visit the JCPS website. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and at least a 2.75 GPA. Participants need not be a minority to apply, though the district is prioritizing candidates in high-needs areas, including minority representation and math and science teachers
A ceremony on Tuesday, May 9 honored the medical students and showed appreciation for the time and effort they put into building the curriculum and stimulating a real impact on these kids and teenagers. Karen Udoh, who has served as a leader and voice of the Future Healers Program, was recognized with a special send off as she heads to Baltimore to start her residency with the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine. Udoh will remain a part of Future Healers as an advisor.
Since October of 2020, the partnership has brought over 100 kids to the program.
Louisville has seen a significant increase in gun violence in the last decade, including two mass shootings in the last month. The health care response from the UofL Hospital – J. David Richardson Trauma Center, paired with the Future Healers Program aims to create a hope for the kids in this community.
Eboni Cochran is the recipient of the 2023 UofL Outstanding Community Engagement Award for a Community Partner. Eboni is the is co-director of Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT), a grassroots organization of citizens living on or near the fenceline of Rubbertown. Rubbertown is host to 11 large chemical plants, the largest source of industrial emissions in the city. A trusted voice in environmental justice efforts for several decades, Eboni regularly leads Environmental Injustice tours around west Louisville, and also co-directs West Louisville Math and Science. Recently, she has been working with Megan Poole, UofL assistant professor of English, College of Arts & Sciences, and Dr. Poole’s students, on the Air Justice project. The Air Justice project aims to make engaging with the issue of air pollution easier, and also seeks to amplify what communities in Louisville want from environmental health equity work. Air Justice works with scholars, students, and local community members like Eboni to research solutions that bring legislative change and decrease toxic emissions in neighborhoods.
Eboni also received the 2023 Josh Smith Award for Sustainability pictured above
Outstanding Community Engagement Award winners also included:
UofL students Adrienne Smith, Kendria Kelly-Taylor, Jason Deakings for their work with young adults are affected by HIV. The Fighting Injustices among African American Youth Project works to address HIV testing and prevention barriers among justice-involved African American young adults.
UofL Assistant Professor of Comparative Humanities Dr. Hilaria Cruz won the faculty award. Dr. Hilaria Cruz grew up speaking Chatino, a language for which there was no writing system. She was forced to learn Spanish in school. However, as a PhD student, working with two others, she co-developed a writing system for Chatino. Since then, Dr. Cruz has devoted her professional life to promoting literacy in Chatino. The Chatino Tonal Books Project is one way she has worked to achieve this goal. With her students, both undergraduate and graduate, she has written and published 19 children’s books.
Jason Beare received the staff award for starting the Louisville H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5k to raise money for local Veterans in 2022. Thanks to the participants, donations, and sponsorships from numerous local and national businesses, they donated $7500 to Veterans Club, Inc., which used the funds to aid Kentuckiana-area Veterans in financial crisis. They also donated a full $5000 scholarship to the Salute to Scholarship Fund at UofL.
The Outstanding Community Engagement Award was created in 2009 as a way to recognize faculty, staff, students, and community partners who are involved in outstanding community engagement service. Honorees engaged in exemplary community engagement activities such as volunteerism, outreach, partnerships, curricular engagement, or community-based research receive $1,000, a crystal award, and their name added to the permanent recognition display located in Ekstrom Library.
The shooting in downtown Louisville on April 10 continues to shake all of us, especially those who were closest to the victims. Several members of our campus community were beloved family members and dear friends of the victims of the horrible attack. Please keep those injured or killed, those that love them, our fellow Cardinals and our entire Louisville community in your prayers and thoughts. I know you join me in sending our deepest condolences to those who lost a loved one so tragically in the shooting.
I want to make sure to recognize and appreciate the heroic actions of those in our community who responded quickly, bravely and professionally in the early moments of the horrific attack and throughout the day.
I know you all join me in offering our tremendous gratitude to the courageous officers of Louisville Metro Police Department who rushed into the Old National Bank Building, saving lives while putting themselves at great risk.
Within minutes, officers from our own UofL Police Department arrived to support LMPD. These brave members of our community worked quickly with LMPD to secure the scene itself as well as throughout the hospital district. I cannot say it often enough how greatly I appreciate our colleagues – the officers of ULPD – as each day they work tirelessly to keep our community safe.
We all recognize with deep gratitude the efforts of our colleagues at UofL Health – UofL Hospital – the trauma doctors, nurses and staff – who provided outstanding emergency medical care to those injured in the attack and continue to care for them. In our darkest moments, these heroes, as well as other first responders, exhibited true bravery and professionalism in serving their fellow citizens. I feel, as I know we all do, humbled by their actions and grateful to all of them.
I want to remind everyone that asking for help, especially in times of trauma and stress, is a most important part of recovery. Help is available for those needing additional support. Students can call our Counseling Center at 502-852-6585 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or access other options at https://louisville.edu/counseling/resources. Counseling for our faculty and staff is available through our Employee Assistance Program provider, Anthem EAP. Call 800-865-1044 or go to AnthemEAP.com > Select “Member Log In” > Type “University of Louisville.”
As we all work to find a path forward in the midst of this tragedy, although I have only been a part of UofL for less than three months, I have great faith in our Cardinal and Louisville communities. I have quickly learned that Cardinals stick together, especially when they need each other most. Please take an extra moment to care for yourself, your classmates and your colleagues, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the university for support.
Morgan LaRosa, a third-year law student at UofL, has participated in the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic since its inception in spring of 2022. A partnership of the University of Louisville Trager Institute and the Brandeis School of Law, the clinic provides free estate planning services to underserved clients. Staffed by UofL law students under the direction of Misty Clark VanTrease, a licensed attorney and adjunct faculty member at the School of Law, this is one of only a few clinics in Jefferson County that provides such services to low-income clients. UofL News reached out to Morgan to learn about her experience and how it has impacted both her and the clients she serves.
UofL News: You’ve been involved with the clinic since it began. What keeps you coming back?
LaRosa: I am drawn back by the work we are doing and all of the clients I have gotten to meet. The creation of this clinic felt serendipitous; it was exactly what I was looking for. I came into law school knowing I had an interest in estate planning and working with elderly populations. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to end up working in a general law school clinic that, while a great learning opportunity and benefit to the community, would not be in an area of the law that I had an interest in practicing. Then the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic was announced as an option for students’ required experiential learning.
Elder law can be such a rewarding field. The documents we are drafting – durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, living will directive and last will and testament – are important documents that can ease the burden on the client and their family and friends when it comes to end-of-life care. They are crucial in preserving the wishes of the client for a time when they may not be able to fully communicate those wishes anymore. The clients that come to see us trust us with the task of making sure their wishes are clearly stated and protected in legal documents. Many clients have expressed their gratitude for the services we are offering, and I am just as grateful that they have trusted me with their estate planning needs and the opportunity to learn and grow as a student. My experience in the clinic has been the highlight of my law school education.
UofL News: How has your role in the clinic evolved?
LaRosa: My role has evolved with the growth of the clinic and the growth of my experience in elder law. In January 2022, when we were preparing to open the clinic, we were a much smaller group. There were four students with three attorneys supervising us. We were learning as we went along and had the task of setting the foundation for the clinic. We had to decide everything, from what supplies we needed in the office to what language we wanted to include in our documents. My role was conducting client intake interviews, drafting documents and conducting document executions.
I thoroughly enjoyed the work I did in spring 2022 and reached out to Misty toward the end of that semester about the possibility of doing some work in the clinic over the summer on a volunteer basis. The Trager Institute and the law school approved the idea of a limited summer clinic, and in summer 2022, the clinic offered two mini clinics.
During these mini clinics I had the opportunity to take on a more supervisory and administrative role. There were about 10 law students per session that I, along with attorneys Misty, Sheldon Haden and Chris Brown, trained and supervised. I was the point of contact for all client communication and observed all client meetings. It was a whirlwind experience. Over the course of four days, we served 17 clients and prepared a total of 64 documents.
This semester I have a combined role. I am meeting with clients and drafting documents as I did in my first semester, while also providing support and advisement to the nine other students in the clinic. I am the first student to return to the clinic for a second semester, so I came in with a wealth of knowledge to share.
UofL News: Why is elder law important?
LaRosa: Elder law is a field of law that encompasses services that benefit everyone as they enter the later stages of life. Aging is a natural part of life, and with it comes new concerns and milestones. It is important to have a sector of the legal field dedicated to the complexities that come with life planning documents. Having a long-term care plan and estate planning documents can relieve some of the stress that clients and their families face when thinking about the future.
UofL News: Students participating in the elder law clinic are required to take part in the Trager Institute’s case conceptualization workshops. What have you learned or gained from these workshops that you can apply to your clinic work?
LaRosa: The case conceptualization workshops are a really cool way to view a client/patient as a whole and see the way that the various practices at the Trager Institute interact to provide comprehensive care to its clients/patients. It exemplifies the team effort to improve overall quality of life instead of simply issue spotting. When there is a team of doctors, social workers and attorneys coming together for the good of one person, you can ensure that you are addressing care options for physical health, mental health, social relationships and legal security. It provides an expansive view of who we are helping.
UofL News: What impact has this clinic had on the clients that you’ve worked with?
LaRosa: I hope this clinic has helped provide our clients with a sense of peace for the future. Estate planning can feel daunting and scary to many people. Our goal with this clinic is to provide valuable estate planning services to a population that is underserved due to financial limitations. The clients I have served have expressed their gratitude for the help they received through the clinic. I strive to make sure that each person I meet with fully understands the power of the documents we prepare, that they feel confident in the decisions they are making and that they walk away with a sense of relief that they took the initiative to seek out our help. By executing these documents, clients hopefully feel comforted that their wishes have been legally documented.
As of the end of 2022, the clinic had served 76 clients in preparing 305 legal documents.
UofL News: How do you think your experience at the law clinic will influence your future goals and plans after you graduate from Brandeis?
LaRosa: My experience at this clinic has solidified my interest in practicing as an estate planning attorney. Moreover, it has expanded my view of the field of elder law. I now plan to practice as an elder law attorney in Kentucky upon graduating and passing the Kentucky bar exam. I enjoy the work I have done at the clinic. It has provided me with hands-on, practical experience that I never would have fully acquired from a law school classroom. There is nothing more valuable than real client interaction. I want to continue serving the aging populations of Kentucky.
Jason Beare, research manager in the department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, was awarded the 2023 Outstanding Community Engagement Award in the staff category at the 8th Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium sponsored by the University of Louisville Office of Community Engagement on March 24, 2023. The intent of the Community Engagement Award is to recognize exemplary contributions that impact the well-being of the community or individuals in the community. Beare received a monetary award and his name added to a permanent recognition display in Ekstrom Library on UofL’s Belknap campus.
A 14-year employee of the University and longstanding UofL Staff Senator, Beare and his wife, Melissa, created the Louisville Honor Earned, Remembrance Owed (H.E.R.O.) Run/Walk/Ruck 5K to honor military personnel while supporting Kentuckiana-area veterans and dependent students. The event was first held in June 2022 with nearly three hundred participants, including virtual runners from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kosovo, and Horn of Africa.
Through the inaugural event, Beare raised more than $12,000 to benefit veterans and veteran dependents. A $7,500 donation was awarded to Veterans Club, Inc. to assist local veterans who have fallen on financial hardships. Numerous local veterans received life-changing support thanks to the donation, including a new HVAC unit for a disabled veteran caring for his spouse with severe asthma, housing assistance for a veteran and his family living in a storage unit, and food assistance for an elderly disabled veteran.
“What is more amazing,” said Kyle Hurwitz, director of the Center for Military-Connected Students, “is the enduring impact their actions will have on UofL students through their $5,000 H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5K contribution to UofL’s Salute to Service scholarship fund for veteran and dependent students.” Awarded for the first-time in fall 2022, the scholarship is changing lives. The first recipient was a Freshman Music Therapy major, and youngest daughter of a deceased veteran. The student is a Type 1 Diabetic, struggling to afford insulin and continuous glucose monitoring. The scholarship is allowing her to not have to choose between medical care and tuition bills and is enabling her to continue her education.
Beare was also able to bring positive attention to the University of Louisville campus, partnering with various offices in support of the event. University Athletics were involved in hosting the Start/Finish line at Cardinal Track Stadium. UofL Police provided security officers and police officers for road closures and overall safety. UofL Parking provided the barricades for road closures, and also offered free parking in the Floyd Street garage for all race participants.
“Melissa and I had no idea what to expect when we started talking about creating a charity 5K event for veterans,” said Beare. “We thought we’d be lucky to get 100 participants and donate a couple thousand dollars. The support of the UofL community has been a humbling and rewarding experience, and truly helped grow the Louisville H.E.R.O. Run beyond our wildest expectations. The 2023 event will be even bigger and better.”
The School of Medicine recognizes the importance of supporting our community, and we are proud of the engagement that Jason Beare has achieved through his service to veterans in the city of Louisville. The next Louisville H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5K will occur on June 3, 2023 to close out Memorial week.
University of Louisville second-year dental student Kierra Dages is one of 11 dental students nationwide recognized for dedication to community service.
The new award recognizes dental students who demonstrate that part of becoming a dentist is serving communities and helping those in need. One winner was named from each of ASDA’s 11 districts.
ASDA is a national student-run organization that advocates for dental students.
Dages is a second-year DMD student from Hebron, Kentucky. She completed a bachelor’s degree in public health at UofL in 2019.
“I’ve always had the approach of looking at the bigger picture and systemic health,” Dages said, adding she believes that she and other dental professionals should “always remind ourselves … that we’re not just working on the mouth and we’re not just focusing on oral health, but on overall health.”
As Dages progresses through dental school, she will have the opportunity to serve patients at the School of Dentistry’s on-site clinics and externship sites around the state.
Dages saiid she looks forward to serving a diverse group of patients. “It really prepares you to be able to adapt and think critically and be able to work around issues that you’re going to see out in everyday practice,” she said.
Dages has also connected with the community through volunteering with charitable organizations. She has been active in Grow502, founded by UofL School of Medicine student Onu Udoh in 2020 to reduce health disparities in underserved Louisville communities.
At one Grow502 event, “we were able to provide dental care, wound care, vaccinations, hot meals, clothing and showers to the unhoused population in Louisville,” she said.
Researchers in the School of Medicine have received grants to support the DISPARITY Trial (Dietary Intervention for primary and Secondary Prevention And Plaque Regression Investigated with Computed TomographY) and the the H.E.A.R.T. of Louisville Project: Helping Everyone Address Risk Today.
The University of Louisville joined The Humana Foundation to announce two grants for the School of Medicine that will support dietary interventions aimed at improving heart health in the Black community.
The grants contribute to UofL’s strategic imperative to address health equity and serve as part of The Humana Foundation’s strategy to eliminate unjust and unnecessary barriers in health care.
“UofL continues to appreciate the support of The Humana Foundation in addressing health equity,” President Kim Schatzel said. “Their generous support will enable us to conduct the important work of engaging with communities of color to research the role of nutrition, food quality and diagnostic screening as they relate to heart health.”
“Every day, people face a multitude of choices that can affect their health and quality of life,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “In too many communities, these choices are limited by factors beyond their control. That is why we are expanding healthy choices for communities and eliminating social and structural barriers, so that more people can reach their full health potential.”
Each of the three-year grants will fund regional nutrition programs. The larger of the two grants is $1,037,000 and will support the DISPARITY Trial (Dietary Intervention for primary and Secondary Prevention And Plaque Regression Investigated with Computed TomographY). The grant will support cardiac disease screening and nutrition-based interventions to address cardiac health disparities among older Black adults in Louisville.
The second grant of $154,000 is earmarked for the H.E.A.R.T. of Louisville Project: Helping Everyone Address Risk Today. The funding will support the identification of members of the Black community in Louisville at-risk for coronary disease and enrollment into long-term nutrition and lifestyle interventions.
“Food insecurity is a major problem that correlates with health care disparities,” said cardiologist Kim Allan Williams Sr., chair of the UofL department of medicine. “Nutrition education and food quality issues plague our African-American community, keeping heart disease as the leading killer of Americans. Our trials will help detect disease in those who are at risk and manage those already diagnosed using lifestyle changes, medication, enhanced access to cardiac care and advanced diagnostic imaging.”
The programs funded by both grants will include efforts to create healthy emotional connections, as a vital part of a holistic approach to care and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition to support lifelong health and wellbeing.
rtium welcomes the University of Louisville and we look forward to working together to both enhance their existing work in Ghana while learning from their expertise in international pediatrics to grow all of the AMPATH partnerships,” said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, executive director of the AMPATH Consortium.
Candice Hardin, Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) coach at JCPS, hands a rose to LTR graduate Donald Morehead at the graduation celebration on May 18 (photo courtesy JCPS)
