The University of Alabama at Birmingham launches the pilot class of the UAB Healthcare Educators Academy at an opening ceremony and reception on September 17, 2019. The HEA is a strategic partnership between the UAB Schools of Medicine, Health Professions, Dentistry, Public Health and Nursing designed to strengthen educators through mentorship that fosters a culture of excellence, develops innovative teaching resources and advances a collaborative environment.

“I’m extremely excited about the impact that the Healthcare Educators Academy will have across the university,” said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president and dean of the UAB School of Medicine. “By providing in depth mentorship to other faculty members, our schools will be strengthened, and our students will reap the benefits of an even more enhanced education.”

The HEA is composed of 12 faculty members and 12 mentees from schools across UAB.

Carleton Rivers, MS, RDN, assistant professor and internship director, of the M.S. in Nutrition Sciences, Clinical Track/Dietetic Internship, represents the School of Health Professions as a mentee and receives a two-year membership to the inaugural group.

“As a junior faculty member in the Department of Nutrition Sciences, I am fortunate to have multiple mentors to come alongside me and help guide me on my current career path,” said Rivers. “I believe that the Healthcare Educators Academy will provide me with even more opportunities to grow in my role as a faculty member and develop new relationships across campus.”

Her mentor in the first year is Robin Lanzi, PhD, professor and director, Academic Programs in the Department of Health Behavior and co-director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Behavioral and Community Sciences Core.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as a mentee for the Healthcare Educators Academy,” said Rivers. “I look forward to the development process and am eager to see how my membership in the HEA benefits my current and future students.”

The HEA mentors, who serve a one-year term, include SHP primary faculty members Tino Unlap, Ph.D., professor and director, M.S. in Biotechnology (Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences) and Jessica H. Williams, Ph.D., associate professor and director, Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Health Services Administration.

Other SHP affiliated HEA members include Dawn Taylor Peterson, Ph.D., director, Faculty Development & Training for the Office of Interprofessional Simulation with a secondary assignment to HSA, and James Willig, M.D., associate professor, Infectious Diseases, UAB Medicine, and member of SHP’s Healthcare Quality and Safety Graduate Programs Advisory Board, serving as mentors and Gregory Pavela, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Public Health and scientist in SHP’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center, who is a mentee.

The UAB Healthcare Educators Academy is a member of The Academies Collaborative, a national forum for health professions teaching academies. It operates within three pillars:

• Teaching Excellence
• Career Advancement
• Professional Meaning

HEA members will offer faculty development in a variety of settings and venues, including mentoring of junior faculty, teaching workshops and developing educational materials such as videos and podcasts. They will also support professional wellbeing and professionalism, including work-life balance and role modeling.

The HEA is supported by funding from the Health Services Foundation General Endowment Fund.