John Woods, M.D.John Woods, M.D., assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of OB/Gyn Simulation; Shawn Galin, Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine and director of the Clinical Skills Center; and Lanita Carter, Ph.D., assistant professor of Medical Education and director of the Office of Medical Education and Student Services at the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus, will guide the admissions process through the duration of a national search to secure a new associate dean for admissions.Nathan Smith, M.D., who led the admissions office for 15 years as assistant dean, will retire from the role on July 31. He will continue practicing medicine in the UAB Department of Psychiatry.
Because this is a large role to fill in an interim capacity, school leaders developed a plan to split the role into three positions to address different areas of the admissions pipeline, said Craig Hoesley, M.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education and chair of the Department of Medical Education.
“John, Lanita and Shawn are each exceptional leaders, and I’m pleased they are willing to lead during this transition,” Hoesley said.
Each of the three will work closely with Hadyn Swecker, Ph.D., director of Admissions in the School of Medicine.
Lanita Carter, Ph.D.Woods will lead the interim admissions team and manage external relationships. He will be responsible as a strategic resource to the director of admissions and manager of the interim team. He will also work to build relationships for the admissions office, including those with the pre-health advisors and directors of the Medical Scientist Training Program, Rural Medical Scholars Program and Early Medical School Admissions Program. He will also lead communication with applicants who are no longer under consideration for admission and provide feedback on their application and competitiveness. Woods joined the UAB faculty in July 2012. He has been involved with admissions since 2012, serving on the Admissions Committee, Admissions Selection Committee and Admissions Executive Committee. He’s also the lead faculty mentor for the Woods Learning Community.
In his interim role for admissions, Galin will manage the pre-interview admissions stage, to include chairing the admissions committee. He’ll also be responsible for initial application review, the Multiple Mini Interview and traditional interview training.
Shawn Galin, Ph.D.Galin, who joined the UAB faculty in 1996, has been involved with Admissions since 2005. He currently serves on the Admissions Committee, Admissions Selection Committee, and the Medical Education Committee in the School of Medicine. Carter will lead the peri- and post-interview stage in her interim role in admissions. As such she will chair the Admissions Selection Committee, according to School of Medicine policies and procedures and LCME requirements. She will also be responsible for traditional interview discussion on interview days.
She joined the Huntsville campus in 2003, and since has served on a number of committees in the medical school, representing the Huntsville Campus. She has been on the Admissions Committee for 13 years.
Cheri Canon, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiology, and Lisa Willet, M.D., director of the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program, will co-chair the committee leading the national search, which is in its early stages. For more information about the search, visit the senior leader search page online.