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Message from the Dean
Dear Cardinal Community,
I was deeply honored to be asked to step into the role of Interim Dean and represent the school’s faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners. I will leverage my experience and passion for excellence to continue advancing the school's priorities established under the leadership of Dean Cardarelli. In this newsletter, I’m proud to highlight our recent public health graduates, recognize our outstanding alumni, and celebrate the varied events, achievements, and scholarship of the SPHIS community.
First, I want to recognize my colleagues who have also taken on new responsibilities during this transitional period. Dr. K.B. Kulasekera has agreed to serve as Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, in addition to his role as Chair of the Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics. New to SPHIS is Dr. Ted Smith, who has accepted the position of Interim Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Smith is a Professor of Environmental Medicine at the UofL School of Medicine, Director of UofL’s Center for Healthy Air Water and Soil housed within the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, and co-directs the Humana Community Health Research Center. He also holds leadership roles in the community engagement cores of the UofL’s Superfund Research Center and the Center for Integrated Environmental Health Sciences. Please join me in thanking Drs. Kulasekera and Smith.
The SPHIS community gathered on May 6 to celebrate our 2025 graduates and student award winners. We also recognized our inaugural 2025 employee award nominees and winners. We honored the memory of Dr. Riten Mitra, who posthumously received the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Award for his contribution to the field of bioinformatics, biostatistics, and public health. Lisa Bell, Program Coordinator, Dept. of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, was the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Staff Award. View images from the event.
The celebration continued later that week with Doctoral Hooding on Friday, May 9, and Commencement on Saturday, May 10. Congratulations to the Class of 2025.
I hosted schoolwide forums to provide faculty and staff with updates on several important topics, including strategic planning, the annual budget process, and a timeline for CEPH reaccreditation. We also discussed the importance of our school’s timely response to HB-4. I have been working closely with UofL leadership to determine the next steps and how this affects SPHIS. I appreciate the guidance we have received via email communications and in-person meetings. You can review university-wide emails on the UofL Office of the President Website under Connect & Engage.
We have lots to look forward to over the coming months. They Gray Street Farmers Market kicked off June 05 and will be open every Thursday from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. through the end of September. We’re excited to announce that the speaker for our 2025 Woodson Lecture will be Dean Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, Yale School of Public Health. Registration is open, and we hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, Sept. 16 from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm at the University Club.
One final note is that Melissa Schreck, Director of External Affairs, is retiring. Melissa has been instrumental in SPHIS communications over the past 21 years. Even though she is retiring, you still may run into her volunteering at the Gray Street Farmers Market on occasion. Join me in wishing her all the best in her next chapter.
Sincerely,
Kathy B. Baumgartner, MA, MS, PhD
Interim Dean & Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health
UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences
Read previous Messages from Dean Cardarelli
