Meet Our Staff

Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Advancement

(502) 852-6266

Michelle D. Stevenson, MD, MS, became Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Advancement of the University of Louisville School of Medicine in January, 2024 and she brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to her appointed role. She has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level of medical education for nearly 20 years and has authored 62 peer-reviewed publications in her field. She has served as director of research development for the Department of Pediatrics at the UofL School of Medicine and Norton Children’s Research Institute since 2020 and is an elected member of the American Pediatric Society and Society of Pediatric Research.

Dr. Stevenson embodies the mission of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement, as she is tremendously passionate about supporting her peers’ professional success at the School of Medicine. She has served on the Promotion, Appointment, and Tenure Committee of the UofL School of Medicine since 2018, previously serving as chair and vice-chair, and has received eleven Faculty Peer Clinician-Teacher or Faculty Peer Mentorship awards from the Department of Pediatrics since 2010, for her work in mentoring her fellow faculty members.

Dr. Stevenson received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Indiana University in 1993. She graduated in 1997 from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Returning to her hometown, she completed the residency program in pediatrics at the University of Louisville in 2000. She completed a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2003 and later completed a Master of Science in Molecular Epidemiology and Children’s Environmental Health from the University of Cincinnati and has served as a faculty member at the U of L School of Medicine since 2008.

Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs and Advancement

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Christopher D. Seals, PhD, became Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs and Advancement of the University of Louisville (UofL) School of Medicine (SOM) in March 2022, where he also serves as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Seals is a two-time graduate of the University of Louisville, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2008 and his Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology in 2011. While working on his Master’s degree, Dr. Seals worked for 4.5 years in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UofL, specifically focusing on diversity recruitment programs. Dr. Seals later left Kentucky to pursue his PhD at Michigan State University (MSU) where he finished his PhD in Educational Psychology in 2018. Upon graduating with his doctoral degree, he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois (UIUC) where he served as a tenure track Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Curriculum and Assessment for UIUC’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Presently, in Dr. Seals new role at UofL’s SOM, his responsibilities in the Office of Faculty Affairs include providing leadership and oversight with faculty programs and initiatives supporting diversity and inclusion, positive faculty climate, faculty wellness, and recruitment and retention of diverse faculty in the school of medicine. His responsibilities will also allow him to provide support to the Office of Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education relating to resident and fellow recruitment, retention, diversity and professional development.  

Associate Dean of Faculty Development

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Gerard P. Rabalais, MD, MHA., became Associate Dean of Faculty Development of the University of Louisville School of Medicine in July 2015.  In addition to his role in the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement, Dr. Rabalais is the chair of the University of Louisville Department of Pediatrics, the largest department in the School of Medicine with 200 faculty, 100 residents and fellows and nearly 400 staff.  He holds the Billy F. Andrews Endowed Chair in Pediatrics, Dr. Rabalais is also the Chief of Staff at Kosair Children's Hospital.  Dr. Rabalais is a 1981 graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine.  He completed his pediatrics residency and chief residency at Tulane University and went on to clinical and research fellowships in pediatric infectious disease at University of Colorado.  In 1998, he earned a master's in health administration from University of Colorado School of Business.  Dr. Rabalais joined UofL as a pediatric infectious disease specialist in 1987.  Dr. Rabalais, in his new capacity as Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, is charged with the creation and oversight of a new comprehensive program in faculty development around making our faculty better teachers focused on helping students and residents to learn better.

Director of Health Sciences Center Faculty Affairs

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Beth Williams began working at the University of Louisville in 2012 and joined the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement in January 2015.  As Director of the HSC Faculty Affairs, she directs the overall operations of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement and processes faculty actions for the School of Medicine and HSC level administrative and Endowed Chair appointments. She is a resource concerning faculty personnel policies and procedures for the Provost's Office, Vice President for Academic Medical Affairs, School of Medicine Dean, Associate Deans, Department Chairs and faculty.   In the School of Medicine, she determines eligibility for promotion, tenure and periodic career reviews, and notifies faculty and departments of other required actions.  She initiates and assembles appointment materials for Endowed Chairs, Departmental Chairs and other School of Medicine administrators.  She manages the Endowed Chair review process and coordinates the School of Medicine's University Scholar appointments and reviews with the Office of Vice President of Research and Innovation.  She provides training to departmental contacts concerning faculty personnel policies and procedures.  She prepares reports, gathers, complies and analyzes data for the Dean's Office, the LCME (SOM accreditation body), and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Director, HSC Office of Faculty Development
Program Director, Health Professions Education, College of Education & Human Development
Assistant Professor, School of Medicine

(502) 852-1942

Staci Saner pro pic

Dr. Saner directs the overall operations and implementation of faculty development programming for the Health Sciences Center. Staci works directly with and is accountable to the Associate Vice President for Faculty Development and also serves as an advisor to the Associate Provost at the Delphi Center for Teaching and learning, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and the Deans of the four Health Science Campus Schools. She uses her extensive knowledge in education to develop and implement professional development programming for the Health Sciences Center. Dr. Saner is also the Program Director for the graduate certificate programs in health professions education in the College of Education and Human Development. She attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Bachelor's of Science Degree in Biology. She received her M.Ed. in Science Education from The University of Texas, Austin. She received her doctoral degree in Health Professions Education from the College of St. Mary's.

Coordinator, Committee Office

(502) 852-2175

Christina has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of Louisville and a Master of Science in Management from Sullivan University.  She began working at the University of Louisville in the Chairman's Office for the Department of Medicine in 2014 and joined the Office of Faculty Affairs & Advancement to manage the School of Medicine Committee Office in 2018.  This office is responsible for providing information to committees responsible for faculty actions and SOM governance.  Departments should contact Christina regarding:  (1) criteria for appointments at an advanced rank, promotion and/or tenure, and periodic career reviews; (2) material required for review by the Promotion, Appointment , and Tenure committee; (3) initial review of a candidate's CV for appointment at an advanced rank; (4) faculty annual work plans; (5) department faculty annual review document; (6) SOM governance documents including the SOM bylaws and Promotion, Appointment, and Tenure document; and (7) SOM annual standing committee elections and SOM committee roster.

Database Analyst

(502) 852-9215

  

Hao earned her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Kentucky in 2018, and also holds a Master's degree in Business Analytics from the University of Louisville.  In 2022, she joined the UofL School of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs as a Database Analyst.  In this role, Hao is responsible for managing the approval process system for faculty Annual Work Plans and for automating various project tasks for the office.  Additionally, she provides support for the Director of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Affairs Coordinator, by assisting in the preparation of reports, as well as gathering, compiling, and analyzing data.

 

 

 

Phyllis Harris

Program Coordinator, Senior
Assistant to Dr. Michelle Stevenson, Vice Dean

(502) 852-6266

 

Phyllis began working at the University of Louisville in 2011 and joined the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement in February of 2016.  As assistant to Dr. Stevenson, Phyllis is responsible for scheduling meetings and managing her calendar. She is also responsible for:  1. Calling for nominations and receiving submissions for travel awards bestowed by the School of Medicine  2. Coordinating events for Office of Faculty Affairs  3. Organizing PAT Workshops  and 4. One-on-One new faculty orientation meetings. Additionally, she coordinates all international travel requests for SOM travel, for processing and approval by Dean-authorized signatories.